nmmm 



SF 



i 







TURKEYS 
DUCKS 8lGEESE 




WEBB PUBLISHING CO..ST.PAUL.MINN 




Class : 

Book S il 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



Turkeys, Ducks 
and Geese 



A Book of the Latest, Most Complete and 

Reliable Information on Breeding, 

Hatching, Rearing, Fattening, 

Developing, Showing 

and Selling for 

Pleasure and 

Profit 



By H. A. NOURSE 
and others. 



FULLY ILLUSTRATED 

Price Fifty Cents 

WEBB PUBLISHING COMPANY 
St. Paul, Minnesota 

i 9 c 9 



Standard -Bred Bronze Turkeys. 



BREEDS OF TURKEYS. 



The Principal Varieties and Their Chief Characteristics, Size, 
Popularity and Availability for Different Uses. 



By H. A. Nourse. 

Among all the varieties of turkeys, the best known are, 
arranged in the order of their size, Bronze, Xarragansett, 
Buff, Slate, Black and White. The Bronze also stands first 
in popularity by a very wide margin, with the White Hol- 
land second and the Narragansett third. 

The Bronze variety, because of its extreme size and 
brilliancy of color, principally, has outstripped the other 
varieties until probably three-fourths of all the turkeys mar- 
keted in America each season are either thoroughbred 
Bronze or grades in which the Bronze blood predominates. 
Turkeys of this breed have been regarded as more healthy 
and vigorous than those of other breeds, but if there is any 
real difference, it is due to the fact that being so much more 
widely bred there is less danger that they will suffer from in- 
breeding. It is generally conceded, however, that any vari- 
ety which is properly bred and cared for, care being taken 
to breed from none but strong specimens, will soon be free 
from any inherent weakness or disability. 

The White Holland, the only pure white breed, while 
the smallest of the Standard varieties, according to the 
Standard weights, is being bred to as large size as some of 
the heavier varieties by many breeders. This has never 
been a market breed, its size not being sufficient to make 
it most profitable for that purpose. It has, however, come 
into much favor for home consumption where the smaller 
carcass is sufficient for the ordinary family. 

The Bronze, Narragansett, White Holland, Black and 
Slate turkeys breed very true to color and form and it is 



6 TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

seldom that any decidedly off-colored specimens are found, 
even when very large flocks are raised. This fact cannot 
be said of the Buff variety, which really has no good claim 
on the name "Buff." The color usually shades from almost 
white in the primaries and secondaries of wings to reddish 
chestnut on the wing bows and backs. 

One other variety may be classed as pure-bred, namely 
the Bourbon Reds, which are very much like the Buff in ap- 
pearance except that, being allowed to have the more stable 
color red, they are better able to breed out the white. 

The American Wild turkey, which still exists in some 
parts of the country, is grown to some extent in captivity and 
is used now and then to cross on the pure-bred varieties to 
improve the stamina. Those which are grown in captivity 
seldom get larger than the pure-bred White Holland, and 
the effect of crossing them with the larger Bronze and Nar- 
ragansett breeds is usually to reduce the size somewhat. 



Two Well-Developed Young- Bronze Turkey Toms. 



THE BRONZE TURKEY. 



The Most Popular Breed — Points on Breeding — The Correct 
Shape and Color Described. 



By Geo. D. Holden. 

Of all American turkeys the Bronze is the largest, and 
is more extensively bred than any other variety, and forms 
the largest classes at our poultry shows ; in fact, at many 
shows one will see only the Bronze represented, the other 
varieties being shown mainly at our state and county fairs 
by those breeders who make a business of traveling from 
one fair to another with carload lots of the different vari- 
eties of poultry. The extent to which they are bred and 
their place of prominence at our best shows is proof enough 
that they are the favorite breed of turkeys in this country. 
In England the Bronze turkey was introduced to build up 
and improve the English turkey, and proved of wonderful 
benefit to them in the way of increased size and vigor of 
constitution. In looking over the flocks of turkeys through- 
out the farming districts one will find the blood of the 
Bronze in strong evidence. But few flocks will be found that 
do not show a trace of it, and from that they grade up to the 
thoroughbred Bronze. 

Selecting Breeding Stock. 

In the selecting of breeding stock one should aim to 
use those birds that are fully matured, as from such the 
young stock will be of larger size and greater vigor than that 
from young and immature birds. A cock of from two to 
four years of age, with hens of from one to three years of 
age, will give Al results, much better, as a general thing, 
than younger stock. Turkeys will often breed well up to 
five and six years of age. One should not look for exces- 
sive weight in breeding stock, but rather for good sized 



8 TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

frame and vigorous constitution. An overfat bird is seldom 
a good breeder. One male bird is sufficient for a good siz- 
ed flock of females, the number varying somewhat accord- 
ing to the vigor of the male bird. Turkeys do not bear con- 
finement well and require plenty of range and are, therefore, 
more easily raised on farms than when the range is limited 
to small enclosures. On a farm they will range at will, 
pick up much of their living and utilize much that would 
otherwise go to waste. 

Turkey chicks are very delicate and tender for the first 
six weeks or two months of their existence, or up until the 
time they begin to "shoot the red," as it is termed, which is 
the development of the red protuberances upon the neck and 
throat. After this time they become hardy and vigorous 
and will stand almost any conditions of climate, but up un- 
til that time care must be exercised to keep them from get- 
ting damp or chilled; they will not stand the effects of a 
heavy rain storm, and damp quarters are almost certain to 
prove fatal to them. If their quarters are dry and comfortable 
and they are not allowed to remain out in rain storms, they 
will get along very well. 

Required Shape and Color. 

The rich colors of the Bronze turkey are such that it? 
easily takes first rank as an exhibition bird, and as we have 
stated, forms the largest classes at our poultry shows. In 
shape a turkey should be of good sized frame, long in body, 
deep through the center, and with sufficient flesh to round 
the body out well, and to give to the breast that broad, deep 
and full appearance demanded by the Standard, with back 
rising from the neck in a curving line to about the center 
of back and then descending in a graceful curve to the tail. 
The wings should be large and powerful, folded smoothly 
and carried well up on the sides, with thighs long and stout, 
and shanks large and strong. Such a turkey would easily 
carry standard weight and not be overfat. 



THE BRONZE TURKEY 




In color the neck and breast should be a light, brilliant 
bronze, with body a beautiful black shaded with bronze, but 
not as rich or decided in character as that of the breast. The 
fluff black, each feather ending in a wide black and bronze 
band with a narrow edging of white or gray. The surface 

of wings should be 
of a bronze character. 
The -wing coverts 
should be a rich 
bronze with a black 
band at the end. The 
primaries should be 
evenly and distinctly 
barred across with 
parallel bars of black 
and white extending 
the entire length of 
the feather. The tail 
must be black in 
ground color, penciled 
with narrow bands of 
light brown and end- 
ing with a black band 
edged with white or 
gray — with tail cov- 
erts similar in color 
to that of the breast, but not so rich and decided in char- 
acter. This is the color of the male and the female is sim- 
ilar in color, except not so brilliant and clearly defined with 
the edging of the feathers a dull white or gray. 

The usual defects in the color of the plumage of the 
Bronze turkey, lies in the weakness of the bronze, and in 
the lack of white edging where it is required, and in the 
barring or the penciling of the tail and tail coverts. The 
bronze must be rich and decided in color, and not of a dead 
faded appearance. And in wings the barring must be regu- 



A 



Prize-Winning- I 
Male. 



Turkey 



10 



TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 



lar and even in the primaries. And the tail well-penciled 
well down to the base, with a good broad, bronze bar at the 
end with a wide edging of white. The tail is often lacking 
in penciling or else marked with white or gray penciling in- 
stead of brown, and often lacking the bronze bar at the end 
with the white edging. 

It takes richness of color and colors well defined to 
produce a good exhibition plumage on the male turkey, and 
this, in connection with good shape and sufficient weight, 
complete^ an exhibition male, one that should score high. 
The exhibition female is very similar in shape and color, but 
with the color demands not so exacting as in the male. 
From Al stock there should not be much trouble in pro- 
ducing a quality sufficient to show up well in the show room, 
as the Bronze turkey seems to breed truer to color than the 
majority of the parti-colored varieties of fowls. They are 
the favorite turkeys and are deserving of their popularity. 







Winning White Hullund Turkey 



WHITE HOLLAND TURKEYS. 



This Breed Stands Second in Popularity in America and Has 

Many Characteristics Which Recommend It — The 

Only Pure White Breed. 



By H. A. Nourse. 

The White Holland, as its name signifies, is pure white 
so far as its plumage goes. The head and adjuncts and the 
legs and feet show the only color, with the exception of the 
beard, which is the tassel-like growth of coarse hair which 
hangs from the middle part of the breast and is a fine. black. 
This does not appear to any great extent in young birds but 
is found in the mature males. 

It is rather more domestic in its habits than the Bronze 
and other larger varieties of turkeys, usually preferring to 
stay in the vicinity of the buildings rather than to range 
widely in search of natural food. This characteristic makes 
the breed better adapted for farmers and others living in 
reasonably thickly settled territory, where the wanderings of 
other varieties would probably result in trouble with neigh- 
bors or loss of turkeys, or both. 

The old belief that white specimens are more tender 
and lack stamina has no application in this case. The White 
Hollands that are from strong stock and are properly hatch- 
ed and reared are as strong and vigorous as any turkeys. 
On account of their more domestic habits they are more 
rapidly fattened and their white plumage gives them oppor- 
tunity to dress off in an attractive manner if the work is 
well done. Their smaller size gives them an especial value 
for the tables of small families. 



BREEDING TURKEYS. 



"Like Begets Like" is a Safe Rule to Follow in Breeding 

Turkeys — No Double Mating System is Employed — 

Vigor and Stamina Are Very Important. 



By H. A. Nourse, 

In the work of breeding turkeys the simplest rules ap- 
ply. The complex double mating systems, used for the pro- 
duction of show males and females in some of the varieties 
of Standard-bred fowls, have no place in turkey breeding 
and turkey raisers are to be congratulated upon the fact. 
Turkeys breed much truer to conformation and color than 
do Standard fowls and the best mating is the one which 
contains both males and females of the highest excellence 
— provided all are strong and vigorous. Vigor and stamina 
are absolutely necessary and to maintain both frequent add- 
ing of new blood from a different line of breeding is neces- 
sary. None of the systems of inbreeding which have prov- 
ed successful for domestic fowls have produced anything 
but disappointment when applied to turkeys. 

Outcrossing, however, will not alone maintain the 
strength of the individuals of the flock. The environment 
and care, not to mention the feeding, must be right and be 
comparatively near that intended by nature, or the flock will 
deteriorate rapidly. As nature intended the turkey to live 
principally in the open air and subsist largely on the food of 
the fields, namely vegetable growths, bugs and worms, tur- 
keys do not take kindly to confinement, as a rule, and if suc- 
cessive generations are kept in yards the size and vigor will 
decrease. 

In view of these facts, which long experience has 
brought out, the best mating to make is the one which in- 
cludes none but strong, vigorous birds, not too closely re- 



TURKEY CULTURE . 13 

lated, and each possessing, so far as may be, the highest 
excellence of shape and color, or the shape and color which 
conform most closely to the descriptions in the American 
Standard of Perfection. Verv large birds are not verv oft- 
en the best of breeders and very small ones should not be 
bred from. The safe rule is to select those on the larger 
side of medium. 



TURKEY CULTURE. 



General Care of Old and Young — Mating and Breeding- 
Hatching and Rearing — Fresh Air Coops — Killing 
the Lice — Prevention of Disease. 



By A. T. Titus. 

The first essential to success in turkey breeding is vigor 
in the parent stock. I prefer hens of standard weight, with 
broad heads, large feet and legs, good length of body and 
two years old and over, as a turkey hen, if never allowed to 
get fat, will continue to be useful up to five years or even 
to six or seven years of age. Never discard a good hen as 
long as she lives and lays. With such hens I prefer a 
younger mate, a good type of his breed, having a broad 
masculine head, heavy ear carunculations and wattles, large 
feet, long, stout shanks, and upright carriage, as these are 
indications of vigor and of large size at maturity. For best 
results breeding stock should never be allowed to become 
fat, as I am firmly convinced that a turkey once fat never 
again regains its former vigor. Beginners' in turkey breed- 
ing are often misled by such a statement as the following : 
"Young stock for sale from hens weighing 24-32 lbs. and a 
52-lb. torn." A hen weighing 32 lbs. does not often lay fer- 
tile eggs and a 52-lb. torn is usually equally impotent. After 
the flock has been mated it should have free range or a large 
inclosure. 



i 4 TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

How many females to mate with one torn is a matter 
of opinion. While one vigorous torn will head a flock of 
twenty hens with good results, I do not consider a flock of 
more than ten hens to be a profitable venture. Even with 
a flock of ten hens, I would recommend a reserve torn so 
that in case of accident to the head of the flock early in the 
breeding season, you would have a torn to take its place. It 
is not necessary to confine the reserve torn as the more vigor- 
ous one will be the recognized, undisputed head of the flock. 

Feeding the Breeders. 

The hens should be well fed on the grains of the farm — 
wheat, oats, barley and corn, the latter sparingly, or infer- 
tile eggs will result from the hens being overfat. The torn 
should be well fed. If you depend on his getting sufficient 
food fed with the flock, he is likely to be underfed. He 
needs an extra ration of corn daily. In addition to the 
above the flock needs vegetable food, grit and charcoal in 
early spring, and especially a little meat food, not much. A 
heap of old plaster from buildings is also good. 

We set our first eggs under common hens. We like to 
set about three hens at about the same time on eight to 
eleven turkey eggs according to size of the hen, and as soon 
as a turkey hen is ready to sit, we give her eighteen to twen- 
ty eggs. When the time for the hens to hatch arrives, we 
remove the turks as hatched and give them to the turkey 
hen in the evening, removing her eggs and giving them to 
other hens to be hatched. A good turkey mother will raise 
a brood of twenty-five to thirty poults. 

Nests for Sitters. 

Barrels containing a little clean straw placed on their 
sides in the orchard, among trees, or in other secluded 
places, secured so they cannot roll, and with a hole in the 
lowest part to prevent water accumulating, will tempt tur- 
key hens to nest there. The barrel makes a first class nest 
for setting a turkey hen. It is a good plan to gather in the 



TURKEY CULTURE I5 

turkey eggs every evening, leaving a hen's egg or a glass 
or wooden egg in the nest so as not to discourage the hen, 
and put them in a cool place, preferably a dry cellar and par- 
tially turn each egg daily. 

Ten days before hatching time treat the sitting hens 
for lice. Dust them thoroughly with insect powder, re- 
peating same on the twenty-sixth day to free the hen from 
lice at hatching time. 

If your turkey hen is quiet you may remove the shells 
from the nest at hatching time, and sometimes it is desir- 
able to remove the poults also ; but if the hen is nervous don't 
disturb her until she is ready to leave the nest. 

Feeding the Poults. 

We water the poults when twenty-four hours old, using 
a very shallow dish for the purpose. An old sardine can an- 
swers this purpose well. When they are thirty-six hours 
old — forty-eight hours will not hurt — we feed them a ration 
of clean sand, charcoal and egg shell pulverized fine. A few 
hours later we feed them what they will readily eat of milk 
curd well pressed until it crumbles readily or a standard 
brand of chick feed. The latter is more convenient and saf- 
er. Dry rolled oats is good feed. 

Before feeding, if the weather is warm, we take the 
turkey hen and poults from the nest and quietly carry them 
to a grassy place ten to twenty rods from the buildings, where 
we have already prepared a board pen made of three 12-inch 
boards 8 feet long fastened securely in form of a triangle. 
We place the poults in the pen and water them, then quietly 
place the hen in the pen and come away. ' As the poults 
cannot get out the hen will stay in until the poults can get 
out. Then we let the hen care for them. About four or 
five o'clock in the afternoon we drive the hen near the build- 
ings, allowing her to brood the flock in the open, near the 
buildings for protection from shunks and other enemies. 
While in the pen we keep fresh water before them always 



10 TURKEYS., DUCKS AND GEESE 

and feed sparingly as before directed about three times a day. 
A good rule in feeding is to feed poults half as much as 
they will eat, as the little gluttons will eat and grow and in 
about two weeks die if allowed to have all they will eat. 

On the Range. 

After the hen takes them on the range, we feed them 
a little wheat or chick feed, or curd, when we bring them 
up in the evening. In a few days they will come up of their 
own accord, but still continue to give them a little feed to 
keep them tame and allow the turkey mother to do the rest. 
If she does not get all the food or water the poults need she 
will bring them to the buildings and by her call you may 
know that they need water or feed. Don't be afraid of the 
turkey mother tiring the poults to death by traveling too 
fast or too far nor that she will trail them through the wet 
grass and chill them, nor that she will all©w them to get 
wet from a shower of rain. She will do nothing of the kind. 
A turkey mother knows much more than you do about the 
needs of her flock of poults. Treated in this way the flock 
is always tame and you will have no trouble to teach them 
to roost indoors when winter comes, but don't put them in 
a chicken house. A roomy shed for them I strongly rec- 
ommend. 

Fresh Air Coops. 

Last year we sustained a great loss of poults jrom 
predatory incursions of night animals, and we think now of 
trying a little different method — one practiced and recom- 
mended by a well known fancier. Instead of trusting whol- 
ly to our vigilant collie for night protection we will provide 
roosting coops with frame 6 ft. long, 4 ft. wide, 5 ft. high in 
front and 4 ft. in rear, roof and back boarded and ends and 
sides enclosed with poultry netting of small mesh. In this 
you may put low perches and keep the brood until they are 
ready to fly up out of danger, provided you move the coop 
onto fresh ground at least three times a week, and to move 



TURKEY CULTURE 17 

it daily is better. It is not best to have broods near one 
another. Sometimes two broods will go together from 
choice, and no evil will then result from this voluntary as- 
sociation. 

Fighting the Lice. 

I have left the most important item in the care of poults 
to the last — lice. We try to rid the hens from lice so that 
they are free from these pests when poults are hatched. We 
use different plans to effect this result. Fine cut tobacco in 
the nest is good. We use standard lice killers and Persian 
insect powder. A few days before hatching time take a 
can such as we get ground pepper in or an ordinary salt 
shaker, fill with powder and thoroughly shake dust into her 
feathers in all sections ; turn the feathers forward and be 
sure the dust penetrates to the skin. When the poults are 
about three days old, take each poult and thoroughly fill 
its down with the powder and repeat this treatment twice a 
week until they are four weeks old— oftener if you can find 
a louse in the wing quills. After four weeks, frequently ex- 
amine and treat when lice are in evidence until fully feath- 
ered. 

Prevention of Diseases. 

Did you ever lose turkeys from cholera? Cholera is 
a rare disease but bowel trouble from various causes is not 
rare. Overfeeding, lack of grit, lice, stagnant pools of wa- 
ter, feeding after swine, and exposure to cold and chilling 
rains are fruitful causes of many cases of so-called cholera 
and other turkey diseases. I don't know how to, cure a very 
sick turkey except by applying the hatchet remedy, but the 
prevention of epidemics is not so difficult. Avoid the causes 
enumerated, and in addition do not throw out scraps of salt 
meat, or fish, or brine, or salt, and you will probably have but 
little occasion to doctor your flock. A disinfectant should 
always be at hand, and one of the best is Potassium Per- 
manganate. A teaspoonful to two gallons of drinking water 



18 TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

twice a week will go far toward neutralizing the evils of 
these causes. If you see a drooping turkey, remove it from 
the flock and allow it to have no water that has not been 
treated with Permanganate as directed, and give same to the 
flock daily and you may prevent the ravages of an epidemic. 

A neglected cold may become roup. The fowl's nos- 
trils moistened with a dilution of one teaspoonful of some 
good germ-killer to one pint of water will probably be all 
the treatment needed. A wound in the mouth from fight- 
ing may induce canker. Wash or rinse the sores with the 
same, solution daily, also give it in the drinking water as 
above directed. Another remedy for canker is to paint can- 
ker sores daily with tincture of iodine. 

If you have a drooping turkey, in addition to treatment 
above recommended, give one-tenth of a grain calomel or 
one common liver pill daily for three days, then give one 
grain of quinine daily for three days. If a turkey is sick 
its liver is always torpid and you should follow the same plan 
of treatment as you would for yourself. 

This is, in general terms, the way we raise turkeys, but 
the attendant of a flock must use judgment in modifying 
rules to suit conditions. In conclusion I will add that con- 
fining poults in a coop many nights in succession on the same 
ground is fatal. A turkey hen always broods her flock in 
the open but can be taught to take the poults indoors. Lice 
and overfeeding cause more fatalities than all other agencies 
combined. 



HATCHING AND REARING TURKEYS. 



Strong, Well-Developed Breeding Stock Essential to Success- 
Making the Nest— Setting the Turkey— Feed- 
ing and Caring for the Poults. 



By L. H. Burpee. 

The first essential to profitable turkey raising is good 
stock ; by that we mean not necessarily fancy stock, but stock 
that has been carefully mated and bred to produce hardy, 
vigorous poults, free from disease, that will attain good mar- 
ketable size by Thanksgiving time. That is the time the 
market turkey raiser expects to reap the golden harvest for 
his season's work, and without the right kind of stock to 
start with all his efforts will be in vain. 

We will take it for granted that the breeder has the 
right kind of stock and will try to help him to avoid the ob- 
stacles to success by giving a little experience of our own 
and knowledge that we have acquired by raising several 
thousand poults during the past years. 

This is the season that one should carefullv watch the 
breeding turkeys and keep them well supplied with grit and 
coarse charcoal. You will be surprised at the amount they 
will eat, especially of the latter, and nothing is so good to 
keep the digestive organs in order and the whole system in 
a healthy condition. 

Making a Turkey Nest. 

Owing to mild winters the hens will begin laying much 
earlier than usual some seasons and care should be taken 
to provide them with well sheltered nests where the eggs 
will be protected from the cold weather we are likely to have 
before the nesting season is over. We secrete old barrels 
in thick brush where we know the hens will look for a place 
to make their nests. These locations are easilv determined 



20 



TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 



after one season, for we have found that the turkey hen al- 
most invariably selects a place to lay near her last season's 
nest ; especially is this true if she was allowed to sit and 

hatch a good brood 
there. Hence it is 
easy for the observing 
breeder to know just 
where to place a bar- 
rel to meet the views 
of the nest-seeking 
turkey. Many times 
the hen will choose 
one of these nests of 
her own accord. If 
she does not we can 
often induce her to 
use it by placing it 
near whfere she has 
her nest and putting 
the eggs in it, being 
careful not 'to disturb 
the general appear- 
ance of the place any more than is necessary. 

It is nearly always advisable to keep the eggs picked up 
as fast as the hen lays them ; a few stale eggs or china eggs 
may be substituted which will generally satisfy the turkey. 
I always substitute infertile duck eggs that have been tested 
out of the incubators as they are nearly the same size and 
easilv deceive the broodv turk. After she has laid from six- 
teen to twenty-three eggs the hen will want to sit and you 
can give her her own eggs or others as you desire, or she 
can be broken up by shutting her up for three or four days, 
after which she can be given her liberty and will soon begin 
laying again. Breeders who have only a few hens and wish 
to raise as many poults as possible should keep the turkey 
hens laying and hatch and rear the little poults with domestic 




Bronze Turkey Male Showing 
Depth of Breast. 



Great 



HATCHING AND REARING TURKEYS 21 

« 
hens ; with a little more care the latter will do as well as the 

turkey hens. 

When a hen begins to lay very early it is better to break 
her up when she becames broody and not let her sit until 
she has laid her second litter as the weather will be warmer 
by that time and there is not so much danger of the eggs be- 
coming chilled when she leaves the nest to eat and dust her- 
self. The poults of this second litter should easily dress 
twelve to fourteen pounds by the middle of November and 
we find this the size preferred for the Thanksgiving dinner. 
The eggs of the first litter may be hatched under domestic 
hens in protected quarters. 

Keep the Nests Separated. 

It frequently happens, where there is a large flock of 
turkeys, that two and sometimes more will nest within a few 
feet of each other. If they are allowed to sit, trouble is sure 
to follow unless all of them become broody at the same time, 
which rarely happens. When the eggs are hatched the 
others must be confined to their nests; otherwise they will 
immediately desert their eggs and go with the brood that 
has hatched. 

Last season we had a nest where two hens laid. We 
did not find this nest until sixteen eggs had been laid and 
we noticed that there were two types of eggs in it. A little 
watching confirmed our suspicion that two hens were laying 
there. The nest was in a good location and well hidden so 
we decided to watch results. Thirty-seven eggs were laid 
when both hens became broody and twenty-nine eggs were 
left in the nest as that seemed to be as many as could be 
conveniently kept in place. The two hens set all right until 
the fourth week when trouble began. First one would have 
all but three or four of the eggs and then the other would 
get most of them. Many of the eggs were broken and the 
result was eleven poults ; that experience decided me never 
to let two hens sit on the same nest again. 



TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

When the hen becomes broody, if she is to be set, she 
should be given the number of eggs that she can cover well. 
Usually from fifteen to nineteen are enough, although we 
have given large hens more than that. Remember it is 
better to give them too few than too many. Have a box 
filled with grit and charcoal handy and throw a little whole 
corn where the sitter can get her fill without having to 
wander too far from her nest. It is an excellent plan to fix 
a place where she can dust herself, something easily done by 
spading up a little place a few rods from her nest, in a sunny 
location ; if the dirt there is not fit it is very easy to carry a 
bushel of dry loam from some available source and you will 
be surprised to see how quickly Mrs. Turk will take ad- 
vantage of her dusting place. A handful of lice-killing pow- 
der thrown into the dusting place will assist to rid the hen 
of lice and she should also be dusted thoroughly two or 
three times during the sitting period. These are all little 
things but should not be neglected on that account, for at- 
tending to them in time will help a great deal to swell the 
season's profit. 

Keep a Record of the Nest 

A record of every nest should be kept, showing when 
the hen began to lay, number of eggs laid, when she became 
broody, etc. This can be done with very little trouble and 
is useful for reference. 

After the hen has set twenty-six days (four w r eeks is 
the time required for incubating turkeys' eggs) we always 
fasten her on the nest when it is possible to do so as she is 
apt to leave the nest before all the eggs are hatched and 
before the little poults that are out are strong enough. If. 
the hen cannot be fastened on throw a few handfuls of whole 
corn close to the nest where she can reach it; sometimes 
this will prevent her from leaving too soon and chilling the 
little ones that are not dried off and those that are not out 
of the shell. 



HATCHING AND REARING TURKEYS 23 

So much has been published about the feeding of little 
poults that the beginner is often at a loss to know just what 
advice to follow and I wish to say that what is successful 
in one place may not do at all in some other place, the nat- 
ural conditions in the two places being so widely different. 
If they have a range, where there are plenty of insects and 
worms, two-thirds of the food problem is solved; if they do 
not have a range of this kind the breeder must use good 
judgment in providing those things that nature would pro- 
vide if circumstances permitted. I have tried about all 
the different methods of feeding with varying success, both 
with broods that were confined to a limited area and with 
those that had a range where nature bountifully supplied 
them with insects, etc. 

Dry Food is Best. 

Where one is fortunate enough to have a good range 
all the food that is required is a little fine cracked corn and 
wheat mixed with about five per cent 'of cracked charcoal, 
such as is sold for small chicks, and a little whole corn for 
the hen. This should be given them early in the morning 
so as to keep the hen from leading the little ones around 
through the wet grass in search of food. Where it is prac- 
ticable to do so, it is best to confine the hen until after the 
dew is off the grass in the morning as nothing is so fatal 
to the young poults as dampness. 

Two years ago we tried feeding a well known chick 
food to the young poults, with such good results that last 
season we used nothing else. We mixed a little charcoal 
and whole corn w r ith this food and fed once a day, early in 
the morning. This was to broods that had ample range 
where they could pick up plenty of insects, etc. There was 
plenty of coarse sand and gravel on the range and no grit 
was furnished except that in the chick food. This method 
of feeding was continued until the poults were about six 
weeks old when cracked corn and whole wheat was substi- 
tuted for the chick feed. 



24 TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

If the poults are confined to a limited area, where there 
is not much animal food, we feed a small quantity of beef 
scraps after the second week, and give them sour milk curds 
when we can get it without trouble. We do not consider 
this necessary as we have had as good results without its 
use as with it. We feed this in addition to the chick food, 
which is given them three or four times a day. 

How to Kill the Ticks. 

When the poults first hatch they should be caught and 
their heads greased with ointment made by mixing a little 
lice powder with clean lard. This will kill all head lice and 
also the ticks, which in some localities are fatal to young 
poults. These ticks resemble a sheep tick, and suck the 
blood from the poult by burying their heads in the poult's 
neck and top of its head, and will cause death in a very 
short time unless attended to. 

We have seen a dozen or more of these vermin on a sin- 
gle poult, some of them nearly as large as a small pea. If 
used in time the lard ointment will kill the pests. 

The breeder should always remember that a close study 
of his flock and its surroundings will enable him the better 
to supply those things for their benefit which nature has 
not already supplied, and which are essential to success. 



HATCHING AND REARING TURKEYS 



The Various Methods of Setting the Turkey Hen and Feeding 
and Rearing the Brood, Which are Used Suc- 
cessfully by Leading Turkey Breeders 
of the United States. 



By H. A. Nourse. 

The business of turkey culture is and will always re- 
main in the hands of the farmer. Xo one else is able to 
furnish the required range and without range the business 
is seldom satisfactory or profitable. Various methods of 
rearing them in confinement, subjecting them to the con- 
ditions enjoyed (or tolerated) by domestic fowls, have been 
tried but none of them have proved worthy of repetition. 

The turkey is by nature a wild bird and wild or semi- 
wild habits are as necessary for its successful propagation 
as is rain to the flowers of spring. The properly managed 
turkey hen ( which usually means the hen that is permitted 
to manage her own affairs) commences to lay in March or 
April according to the season and to the latitude. As a 
rule she selects a secluded place, in a fence corner, perhaps, 
or under a clump of dry bush, and there deposits her eggs. 
If left to herself and the eggs do not become chilled and 
are not carried away by animals, she will hatch them 
into vigorous poults, which she will take to the fields and 
remain as far away from the daily paths of man as she 
can. In a majority of instances she will find sufficient food 
for herself and brood and in the following autumn will pre- 
sent her owner with a flock of large, vigorous young tur- 
keys showing robust development, vigorous health and bril- 
liant plumage. This is the ideal method of rearing and the 
one employed by some of the largest turkey raising estab- 
lishments in this countrv. 



26 TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

Tt happens, unfortunately, that some breeders are not 
so situated that they can allow the hen so much freedom 
with safety to the eggs and brood. They are obliged to 
confine the hen as much as may be necessary to protect her 
from hostile animals, and are obliged to protect the poults 
in like manner, until well grown, and otherwise deviate from 
the line drawn by nature. 

Hatching the Turkey Eggs. 

If the turkey hen is allowed to select her nest, it is 
well to find it in order that the eggs may be collected, if 
in danger from frost or from animals or birds, before the 
turkey begins to sit and also to make sure that the sides 
are sufficiently high so that the eggs will not roll out and 
be spoiled after the incubating business begins. Any work 
of this kind should be performed while the hen is away 
from the nest. China eggs may be put in place of the eggs 
removed and when the hen becomes broody, her eggs may 
be returned to the nest. If the flock is rather wild it is 
advisable to make any alterations in the nest, such as build- 
ing up the sides, etc., with material that can be picked up 
near, such as dry twigs, dry grass, etc. The use of other 
material will sometimes cause the hen to give up the nest 
and seek a new location. Some turkey raisers place boxes 
and barrels in secluded places early in the season, fur- 
nishing each with the material for a nest and one or two 
china eggs. If the hens take advantage of these fixtures, 
it saves the trouble of seeking the nests and also makes it 
possible to fasten the hen on at hatching time so that she 
cannot leave until the hatch is complete, if she should be 
so disposed. If the owner desires to keep the hen confined 
until the poults obtain a fair start in life, it is a much 
simpler matter to remove a hen from the box or barrel and 
to secure the poults than it is to capture her on a nest in 
the blackberry patch and seek out the little ones from a 
dozen or fifteen hiding places among the dry leaves. 



HATCHING AND REARING TURKEYS 27 

Whichever method is followed, the rule is to leave the 
hen pretty much to herself until the eggs begin to produce 
poults. 

Care of the Turkey Hen and Brood. 

If the simple method of permitting the hen to take care 
of herself and handle the brood as nature intended is fol- 
lowed practically no care is necessary ; in fact the only thing 
that can be done is to hunt up each hen and brood once a 
day, if they are not sufficiently hungry or if they are too 
much afraid of human beings to approach the farm build- 
ings, and furnish some whole corn for the mother turkey 
and a little of some of the prepared dry grain chick foods 
for the little ones. Even this is not necessary if the sea- 
son is so far advanced that the grass begins to get green 
and the bugs and worms appear, though it is to be recom- 
mended in any event as an aid to better growth. 

If the hen is to be confined, a coop not less than three 
feet square and three feet high should be provided and 
one four feet square is better. This should have a slat 
front and in warm weather should be turned away from 
the sun. One without any floor is preferred unless the floor 
is necessary to protect the inmates from animals, and such 
a one should be moved to a fresh location each morning. 

The turkey hen should be thoroughly dusted once a 
week with sufficient lice-killing powder to fill her plumage 
to the skin. This should be done in the morning so that 
the powder will have a chance to get in its work and at 
the same time become less suffocating before the poults 
are brooded at night. The young ones should be caught 
once a week and their heads and necks thoroughly greased 
with lard or vaseline. This to kill the large head lice and 
ticks which otherwise cause the little ones much suffering 
and occasionally cause death. This work is seldom either 
possible or necessary when the hen and brood have free 
range ; the hen is then able to dust herself thoroughly with 
earth and the free, wild life enables the youngsters to over- 



28 TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

come the lice and ticks, which appear less frequently on 
poults that live in the open. 

Feeding the Poults. 

The brood of the confined turkey should be yarded 
close to the coop during the first week, but after that may 
be allowed to run as they will, returning to the coop at the 
call of the mother. 

Various mixtures for food and schemes for feeding are 
recommended by those who have had experience in the 
business and whose opinions we respect, but we have al- 
ways found a simple diet of one of the dry grain chick 
foods for the poults, with some whole corn added for the 
hen, the best food that can be furnished for the first two 
weeks. Water, or water and milk, may be given to drink 
and fine grit should be sprinkled where the youngsters can 
reach it. Plenty of fresh air and absolute cleanliness is 
more important than any particular kind of food or manner 
of feeding, though no more feed should be furnished than 
will be quickly consumed three times a day. 

Occasionally the successful turkey raiser finds it advis- 
able to employ the services of a domestic hen from his farm 
yard flock to incubate the turkey eggs and brood the little 
poults. When this is done the hen and brood must be con- 
fined in coop and yard. The manner of feeding does not 
differ from that pursued when the young are mothered by 
a broody turkey, neither does the manner of cooping and 
yarding require any change. 

A Wind-Proof Run. 

In the early spring (and in the Northern states that 
means until nearly the first of June, for cold days are likely 
to prevail up to that time) it is well to provide a runway 
in front of the coop made of boards twelve to fifteen inches 
high, set on edge, to break the wind. Three of these boards, 
each twelve or fifteen feet long will make a very satisfactory 
enclosure of very nearly triangular shape. The sun shin- 



HATCHING AND REARING TURKEYS 29 

ing into this enclosure, which is free from wind, will make it 
warm and comfortable for the little poults, which will grow 
and thrive much metter than if attacked by heavy, chilling 
winds every time they venture out of the coop. 

Such an enclosure should always be located on high 
ground, where the slope of the land will carry away all the 
surface water from heavy rains, or water may settle in the 
low places and the poults become wet or drowned by ven- 
turing into it. 

When young, the poults are very susceptible to winds 
and dampness and on that account many are lost in a wet 
season, especially when allowed to run at large with the 
mother hen. It seems, too, that the mother of any other 
kind of farm fowls uses better judgment in the care of her 
young. 

When bottomless coops are used it should be part of the 
caretaker's business to see that the}' also set on a well drain- 
ed place, else the water will sometimes settle under the 
mother hen and drown the poults even while they are being 
brooded. Occasionally larger enclosures are made of boards 
and the hen and brood placed therein, without a coop. The 
hen is then allowed to leave the enclosure, if she desires to 
do so, though she will never venture far away from the 
poults, w r hich for the first few days cannot get over the 
boards. If the hen is confined in a coop and the poults al- 
lowed to run at liberty, it is seldom w T ise to give the hen her 
freedom for she will almost invariably take her brood into 
the brush or into the fields and can seldom be enticed back 
into the coop. 

When the poults become strong and sturcly, perhaps 
when six to eight weeks old, it is usually best to give the 
hen her freedom in order that she may teach them to forage 
for themselves, thereby cutting down the cost of feeding 
and obtaining for themselves food from nature's stores, 
which is better for them. 

Occasionally it is preferred to keep hen and poults in 



TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

their enclosure until the young "shoot the red" as the say- 
ing is, which means until they show a strong red color in 
their faces and heads. 

Care of the Growing Turkeys. 

The care of the poults after they are set at liberty on 
the range with their mother is practically nothing. If the 
range abounds in natural food, if grasshoppers are plenty 
and wild berries can be found, the brood will not only get 
along without much, if any, grain from the farmer's bins, 
but will develop better and faster and will be stronger, 
more vigorous turkeys in the fall. 

When natural food is plenty the feeding of much grain 
will often prevent the young ones from developing their 
ability as foragers. If fed a heavy meal in the morning, 
they have little incentive to range widely and to search for 
the natural food. On some farms where turkeys are rais- 
ed, the nature of the range is such that a turkey and brood 
would not secure sufficient nourishment to promote a rea- 
sonable growth and in such cases a supply must be furnished 
and in such quantity that the natural food will be supple- 
mented to the amount required to make a full ration. Since 
the most should be made, however, of the nourishment 
which can be obtained on the range this supplied ration 
should be given at evening, though a light feed in the morn- 
ing is sometimes advised. Whole grains should be used, 
principally wheat, corn and oats. No mash should be fur- 
nished. 

No Shelter Needed. 

Any attempt to house the growing stock is a waste of 
time and a useless expense. When the little ones are old 
enough to roost, the old turkey will take them into the trees 
or perhaps on some of the low buildings about the farm. If 
they roost too near the buildings, or anywhere that the 
owner does not find desirable, thev rnav be induced to take 



HATCHING AND REARING TURKEYS 31 

up new roosting quarters bv being driven from those first 
selected on two or three successive evenings. 

It is well, however, to encourage turkeys to return to a 
place near the farm buildings at night to roost as they will 
be in less danger from human prowlers who sometimes 
feel inclined to take advantage of a good opportunity to 
gratify their taste for the bird of the nation's Thanksgiving. 
It is also well to count them every night and if any do not 
appear in the evening they may be looked up and the cause 
of their non-appearance ascertained. If the range does not 
supply sufficient food the lack of it may be noticed when 
the turkeys come in at night. 

For the labor involved, no -farm product ofTers so great 
remuneration as a flock of turkeys. In favorable seasons 
a flock of twenty breeders will produce two hundred young. 
After reserving a score of these for next year's breeders, the 
remainder may be sold in the market at Thanksgiving for 
from four to five hundred dollars. It sometimes happens 
that the farmer's turkeys, which receive but a small share of 
his attention and but a very slight expenditure of money, 
produce a greater income in the fall than all the other prod- 
ucts of the farm combined. 



REARING TURKEYS. 



Young Turkeys From Hardy Stock Are Easy to Rear 
Confine the Little Ones — Guard Against 
Lice and Dampness. 



By Harry D. Dunbar. 

To be successful in raising turkeys requires no more 
care than with chicks, although many imagine it does. If 
turkeys are hatched from eggs from hardy stock there is 
little trouble, provided clean feed and clean quarters are 
given them. 

The first feed usually consists of curd made by warm- 
ing sour skim milk and then squeezing out as much of the 
moisture as possible. With this we feed chopped boiled 
eggs, usually those tested out of an incubator because in- 
fertile, and a bread made of fine corn meal mixed with skim 
milk and seasoned with salt. This is baked until quite 
brown and then soaked in skim milk or water, to soften it, 
but must be squeezed and fed as dry as possible. We sift 
the fine part out of oyster shells and mix it in the feed for 
grit. 

Coops for Young Poults. 

For the first week or two the hens are kept in coops, 
which are frequently moved to fresh grass, and a pen is 
built by fastening 12-inch boards together at their ends, 
which gives the little ones plenty of room and prevents their 
wandering so far to get lost. This also allows the little tur- 
keys to get plenty of green food. 

Last year, having some dried blood on hand,- we used it 
to mix in their feed to take the place of bugs, until the 
turkeys were large enough to catch them, and were greatly 
pleased with the results. Care must be taken to not feed 
too much, however, as it will loosen the bowels. 



34 TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

It is necessary to dust the hen and poults about once 
a week with insect powder, especially about the w T ings and 
body ; use grease for the top of the heads of the young. 
Lice are perhaps the cause of death more often than all other 
things combined. 

Dampness is Often Fatal. 

After turkeys are about two weeks old we let the old 
ones out and let the hen and brood get their own feed, ex- 
cept a little which we give them in the morning and at 
night. Do not let them out in the morning until the dew 
is off the grass as little turkeys cannot stand the wet, and 
many little ones are killed by their mother leading them out 
too early in the day. After turkeys are about six weeks old 
we let them get their own living, which they easily do by 
catching grasshoppers and bugs, etc. 

A Profitable Farm Product. 

We consider them the most profitable property we have 
on the farm, for they kill each year perhaps millions of 
bugs, etc., which would injure the oats and other grains. 
With turkeys selling at eighteen cents to twenty-two cents 
a pound, dressed, as they have the last two or three years, 
it is queer that more are not raised. 

The demand for stock has been so great during this 
time that we could nowhere near supply it. As a profitable 
business there is nothing better for farmers or farmer's 
wives than turkey raising. 



REARING TURKEYS ARTIFICIALLY. 



This Writer Is the First We Have Known to Recommend 
Rearing Poults in Brooders. 



By D. W. Kolbe. 

For the last three years I have been brooding turkeys 
artificially. The turkey eggs are gathered daily and a few 
china eggs placed in the nest to keep the turkey hen from 
changing her laying place. When the hen is ready to sit 
we place from fifteen to eighteen eggs under her. Five 
days before they are due to hatch, the eggs are tested and 
the good ones placed in an incubator. Thirty-six to forty- 
eight hours after they hatch, the poults, being free from 
vermin, are placed in brooders, not over thirty to a brooder. 

Those having success brooding chicks can brood tur- 
keys. The feed for the first week should be hard boiled 
tgg y lettuce chopped fine and rolled oats. Later gradually 
reduce the amount of egg and substitute small grains. Give 
plenty of green stuff and keep grit and charcoal before 
them. They also need bone-forming material. After three 
weeks they can go without heat and at five weeks old can 
be colonized. They learn to know their colony house and 
as they grow older will come back to roost in it. I always 
whistle to them when I feed them as they get to know my 
call and I can always call them home to feed them and to 
lock them in the colony house at night or in rainy weather. 

My per cent of brooder poults raised, this season, 
after the heat was shut off, was 90 per cent. I ran one lot 
of thirty-five eggs in incubators, tested out one infertile 
and hatched thirty poults. I am a little doubtful about ad- 
vising artificial incubation as I think the hen will hatch 
more weak germs than any incubator; but I had rather 
brood turkey poults artificially in large numbers than trust 
them to turkey hens. 



TURKEYS ON THE FARM. 



An Opportunity for the Farmer, Farmer's Wife or Daughter, 
to Increase the Family Income. 



By D. C. Bromaghim, 

It is strange that there are so few turkeys raised on 
farms when farmers and farmers' wives have such un- 
limited range for them. 

Riding over the country and seeing the large fields of 
waving grain, fields of corn that look like young forests 
and the . patches of clover in bloom, with the busy bees at 
work on the beautiful red blossoms, I thought what a place 
for young turkeys. The grasshoppers were thick, and these 
with the bugs and worms that greatly interfere with a good 
seed crop of clover are just what the young turkeys need 
to make large frames and grow fast, and it would benefit 
the farmer to have them there. They will not touch the 
grain nor w 7 ill they do any harm to the corn fields. 

I wish I could say something that would induce girls 
living on a farm to take up this most fascinating work. A 
good flock of turkeys will bring the money to help any girl 
attend the school she has been so anxious to attend. 
Nearly all the work of caring for the young turkeys can be 
done during vacation. In the fall it is very little trouble 
to care for them, and they are very profitable if you go at 
it in a sensible way. 

The first thing to do is to choose a variety of turkeys 
and be sure you get good breeding stock from a reliable 
breeder. Then you must have a place to keep them. They 
do not require a warm place ; some let them shift for them- 
selves and roost in the trees all winter, but they will do much 
better if protected from the cold storms. They will not do 



TURKEYS OX THE FARM 37 

well roosting with the chickens ; they are apt to get the lice 
from the chickens, which is sure death to young poults. 

Corn and plenty of fresh water is all they need until 
the laying season ; then give mixed grains. They will find 
all *the insects they need. Gather the eggs every day and 
keep them in a cool place. I have spoken about the care of 
the young turkeys in my talks before, but it will do no harm 
to say, be sure and dust the old turkeys, and the young ones, 
with lice powder. Be careful about their feed for the first- 
two weeks, giving them just what they will eat up each 
meal and plenty of fresh water. Keep them in out of the 
dew in the morning. When the red begins to show about 
their heads they are nearly out of danger and can be taken 
to the fields. Ours are not allowed to roost away from 
home a single night. After they are brought home a few 
nights and fed they will give- you very little trouble. 




MARKETING TURKEYS. 



Fattening, Killing, Dressing, Cooling and Packing Turkeys 
Intended for the Open Market. 



By H. A. Nourse. 

A very large per cent of the revenue in the turkey 
business is made from sales of market turkeys. A good- 
sized flock, raised on the farm at very slight expense, will 
often put more money into the farmer's pocket about 
Thanksgiving or Christmas time than will suffice to clothe the 
entire family until the next turkey crop is sold. These turkeys 
cannot usually be sold alive with advantage because when 
shipped they lose too much weight from fright and lack of 
nourishment enroute. Moreover, the markets demand 
dressed stock at the time when turkeys are usually sold. 

In view of these facts, the matter of killing, dressing 
and packing the turkeys is fully as important as the fat- 
tening. 

The Fattening Process. 

The usual method when fattening poultry is to confine 
them in coops or at least in buildings and small yards where 
they cannot exercise too freely and feed them foods, strong 
in fattening materials and flesh-makers. This method is 
not usually successful with turkeys and although occasion- 
ally a turkey raiser whose flock is very tame finds it advis- 
able to confine the fattening birds in yards, by far the great- 
er portion allow them to run about and provide plenty of 
good, yellow corn for them to eat twice or three times a day. 

This is partly because the average turkey will become 
disconsolate and pine in confinement and will not lay on 
flesh, and partly because some turkey breeders believe that 
the turkeys make better use of the fattening food and turn 
a greater part of it into flesh and fat if allowed to combine 



MARKETING TURKEYS. 



39 



with it the bugs, worms, tender roots and blades of grass 
which they pick up about the farm. The writer's experi- 
ence, which has been principally with turkeys grown on 

free range, has indi- 
cated that under the 
circumstances the 
only practical meth- 
od of fattening the 
flock is to proceed in 
the manner last de- 
scribed. The flesh of 
those at liberty while 
fattening is almost 
always brighter and 
more attractive look- 
ing than that of those 
which have been con- 
fined in yards and 
stuffed with food 
while taking but little 
exercise. 
The turkeys should not have any food for twenty-four 
hours before killing and may. be kept in a yard where they 
will not be frightened. Water may be given up to within 
twelve hours of killing and if they drink liberally of it 
they usually dress out cleaner and brighter. 




A Young- Bronze Tom. 



Humane Methods of Killing. 

It is bad enough to be obliged to take the life of these 
birds at best but since it has to be done the methods which 
inflict the least pain should by all means be advised. With 
this idea in view, the writer has adopted and always fol- 
lowed the method which is here described. A noose of stout 
cord should be suspended from a support overhead at a 
height so that the noose is about even with the shoulder 
of the operator. The turkey is placed with his feet in this 



4 o TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

noose and stunned by rapping on the back of the head with 
a short, stout club. This puts the bird beyond the reach 
of pain and it may then be bled by reaching the knife 
through the mouth and cutting crosswise to sever the arte- 
ries in the throat. To keep the head straight downward, a 
weight with a short cord and a hook to insert in the nos- 
trils, or in the beak, may be attached. If the blow was 
rightly delivered the muscles of the bird will relax and the 
feathers may be easily removed. 

The Process of Picking. 

The main feathers of the tail and the wing feathers 
should be pulled first and should be yanked straight out. 
In some markets, however, the main tail feathers and the 
primaries of the wings are demanded on the carcass and 
in that case they should not be removed. Next, the breast 
feathers should be removed as the skin of the breast is 
tenderest and most likely to tear. They should be pulled 
straight outward from the bird as it hangs and should be 
removed with a quick jerk, a very few at a time. From 
the breast the expert picker moves up over the body and 
then on to the back, finishing on the neck. A few of the 
neck feathers next to the head are usually left on. Do not 
draw, or remove the head or feet. 

Air Cooled Carcasses Keep Best. 

In some cases it is customary to put the birds in cold 
water immediately after picking and to take them out later 
and dry them. The writer's experience, however, is all in 
favor of keeping them out of the water, washing the car- 
cass with a sponge to remove all dirt and washing out the 
mouth to remove the blood, then hanging up to dry and 
cool in the open air. This, of course, refers to cooling in 
reasonably cool weather and not during warm days when 
the cold water method must be resorted to. 

Packing the Turkey. 

After the turkeys are thoroughly cooled they may be 
packed for shipment. As a rule a lot of fine turkeys will 



MARKETING TURKEYS. 



41 



bring better prices if forwarded in boxes containing one 
dozen, but they must be selected and sorted so that each 
box will contain turkeys of the same grade. When mixed 
grades are placed in the same box the price is almost always 
determined by the poorer quality. 

The box should be of clean, bright lumber just large 
enough to hold the turkeys, six in a row, two rows deep. 
It should be lined with paper and any vacant spaces should 
be stuffed with paper tightly enough so that the turkeys 
cannot shift about during the journey, but not so tight as 
to crush them out of shape so that they will appear as if 
roughly handled when opened in the market. No ice should 
be used in the packages and for short distance shipments no 
ice will be needed. For longer shipments the stock should 
be forwarded in refrigerator cars. 




A Disagreement, 



EXHIBITING TURKEYS. 



The Simple Method of Preparing Turkeys to Win in the 

Show Room. 



By H. A. Nourse. 

Preparing turkeys for exhibition is a comparatively 
simple matter. The various complicated methods which 
are employed by some in getting their fowls in the best 
condition for the show rooms cannot be used with turkeys, 
for if an attempt is made to confine the turkey, or change 
its regular course of living, it usually spends most of its 
time trying to get out and worries so much that it loses 
flesh and attractiveness. 

The turkey is in the best possible condition when it is 
running with the rest of the flock and enjoying the good 
health that outdoor life and good feeding usually give. If 
it could be placed in the show coop directly from the range 
and not be frightened by the array of visitors that pass be- 
fore the coop, or by the judge when he undertakes to ex- 
amine him, no additional attention would need to be given 
it. Most turkeys, however, do not take kindly to the ex- 
hibition coop and first make a fast and furious effort to get 
out. That action frequently damages the plumage, some- 
times breaking the wings and tail so badly as to put the 
bird out of competition, so far as a chance to win is con- 
cerned. After it finds its efforts to escape useless it usually 
stands well, but retreats to the rear of the coop, where it 
stands cowering on the approach of the judge. 

To avoid these things, so far as is possible, the turkey 
should be tamed while running with the flock to the ex- 
tent that it can be easily caught and placed in a show coop 
without frightening it. The bird may then be accustomed 
to the show pen at home and also accustomed to the man- 



EXHIBITING TURKEYS. 4 3 

tier of handling which the judge uses in investigating its 
shape and color. By this method it is possible to put the 
turkey on exhibition in his best possible physical condition 
and in the best color and gloss of plumage, and at the same 
time with that fearlessness which will permit it to make a 
proud appearance before the judge. 



PROFITABLE THANKSGIVING TURKEYS. 



How Turkeys for the Nation's Feast-Day are Reared, Fattened, 

Dressed and Shipped to Obtain Thirty-Five Cents per 

Pound— A Profitable Retail Trade with the 

First Families of the East. 



By H. A. Nourse. 

It is generally acknowledged that the best turkeys are 
raised on farms, where they have free range. Flocks so en- 
vironed obtain the greater part of their food in the fields 
and around the buildings from the time when they are first 
set at liberty in the spring until cold weather sets in. This 
takes them to the fattening time at very little cost to their 
owners. 

If the cost of growing a flock of young turkeys is small 
it is plain that the cost of fattening is not great. If, then, 
a considerable number is sold at thirty- five cents a pound 
it is evident that the profit made is large. For instance, 
a young torn weighing fifteen pounds when dressed would 
sell for $5.25 ; and as the cost of food required to grow and 
fatten such a specimen would not exceed Si. 00 under almost 
any conditions, the owner would receive $4.25 for the labor 
connected with dressing and marketing. It is not difficult 
to figure on this basis that a small flock of turkeys would 
pay the farmer's grocery bill. 

To those who are in the habit of marketing a dozen or 
more turkeys each season at ten to fifteen cents a pound, 



44 TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

this may sound like a fairy tale; but if they make a 
profit ^as most of them do) on those they sell at an average 
of twelve and a half cents, a plan to double the price receiv- 
ed, without increasing the cost of production in proportion, 
will appeal to them, if it is practicable. 

At a certain large Eastern turkey farm, this price 
is obtained every year from families in large eastern cities, 
including Xew York, Philadelphia and Washington. There 
is no secret in the manner of producing and marketing the 
product to obtain the high price mentioned ; it is simply that 
the manager knows how to produce the quality required 
and where to find purchasers who will pay the price. 

Growing the Turkeys. 

Hatching and growing the poults on this farm is a 
very simple matter, for practically all of the work is done 
by the turkeys. They live as free a life as do wild turkeys, 
ranging over 5,000 acres of rough land and living without 
shelter throughout the year. Their food during the warm 
months is almost entirely what they pick up in the fields — 
grass, roots, berries, bugs, insects and worms. No manner 
of feeding • from the grain bins will produce turkey meat 
with a flavor equal to that grown by those that obtain their 
nourishment in the manner nature intended. Thus the tur- 
keys of this farm reduce the cost of their "keep" and im- 
prove the flavor of their flesh by the same means. 

The turkey hens lay their eggs in a nest of their own se- 
lecting, hatch out the poults and care for them until grown, 
almost without assistance from man. Some of those that 
can be reached are fed occasionally when the poults are 
young, but most of the food of turkey and brood is found by 
them upon the range. This method, or lack of method, may 
not raise so large a per cent of the poults* hatched but the 
survivors are healthy, vigorous and probably capable of 
taking on more flesh and fat, of a better quality, than those 
which are protected from the weather when they are young. 



PROFITABLE THANKSGIVING TURKEYS 



45 



The vigorous poult is easily fattened and these young- 
sters possess plenty of strength and a vigorous appetite 
when the fattening process begins and take on flesh rapidly 
and uniformly. 

How the Fattening is Done. 

When the up-to-date poultryman desires to fatten a 
number of fowls he at once thinks of confining them so that 

they cannot exercise 
too freely. Not so at 
this establishment ; 
the turkeys there are 
fattened under condi- 
tions identical with 
those of their growth 
and development. 
The process is sim- 
plicity itself. One 
heavy meal of yellow 
corn per day, fed just 
before dark, produces 
satisfactory results. 

Feeding begins in 
the early days of Oc- 
tober. About that 
time the supply of 
natural food in the 
fields begins to shorten and the flocks are more easily ap- 
proached. During the first week of the fattening period but 
very little corn is given. After, the allowance is gradually 
increased until, at the beginning of November, every turkey 
destined to grace a Thanksgiving table goes to its roosting 
place on tree or fence with its crop crowded full with fat- 
tening, yellow corn. 

The green stuff needed to promote digestion is secured 
by the flock and the beef scraps used by the professional 




A Pair of Dressed Turkeys. 



4 6 TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

fattener of smaller fowls is displaced by toothsome bugs 
and worms found by the turkeys in the fields. 

That the turkeys exercise vigorously during the day is 
not considered a detriment, but rather an assistance ; it 
keeps them in good health so that the extra food supplied 
builds flesh as well as fat and the fat is more evenly distrib- 
uted. 

This method of feeding is continued until killing time 
and produces full-fleshed bodies with a healthy appearance 
and bright yellow color. 

Killing and Dressing. 

Careful preparation for marketing often determines the 
price received for the product. Carelessly dressed stock 
never commands "top" quotations, however well fattened 
it may be. Scalded stock, or carcasses with torn or bruised 
skin are not wanted, except at the prices for lower grades 
than the same stock would be classed in if properly pre- 
pared. 

The turkeys are killed by stunning by a sharp blow 
on the skull and bleeding through the mouth, from a cut 
made with a sharp knife across arteries back of the roof 
of the mouth. The feathers are removed, dry, by expert 
pickers, without injuring the skin. 

Each turkey is carefully washed and hung in the open 
air to cool and dry. When thoroughly cool each specimen 
is taken down, weighed and the weight then taken is charg- 
ed to the purchaser at thirty-five' cents a pound. 

The turkeys are then prepared for packing. The heads 
are removed and the skin of the neck drawn over the bone 
and tied with a clean string. All are drawn and the shanks 
are taken off at the hock joints. The lower thighs are 
pressed upon the upper ones until the former are even with, 
and horizontal to, the keel-bone. This gives the breast and 
body a full, round appearance. The turkey is then ready 
to be packed for shipping. 



PROFITABLE THANKSGIVING TURKEYS 



47 



Each specimen is packed in a new, wooden box. A 
well padded nest of fine excelsior is made in each box and 

lined with two thick- 
nesses of heavy wrap- 
ping paper that has a 
smooth surface, with 
the paper projecting 
over the sides of the 
box. The turkey is 
placed on its back in 
the nest and the pro- 
jecting parts of the 
paper are wrapped 
about it. Sufficient 
excelsior is placed 
over it to prevent 
shifting, the cover is 
nailed on and the 
box is despatched to 
the purchaser. 
Fine excelsior is used and it is not packed too firmly in 
the box, or the carcass might show the impressions of it 
through the paper, when it is unpacked. 

Not every turkey breeder can sell his turkeys at thirty- 
five cents a pound ; but it will pay every breeder to properly 
fatten and dress his stock and then seek the market which 
will pay most for it. In almost any city there are families 
that will be glad to pay a few cents per pound more than 
market price for Thanksgiving turkeys that are worth it. 
The finest quality will not want for buyers if properly ad- 
vertised. 




Packed Ready for Shipment. 



m& 



$s •" %&& s > 'Z&i ~?M 



€». 





*w 




II 



Standard-Bred Pekin Ducks. 



LEADING VARIETIES OF DUCKS. 



A Brief Description of the Popular Breeds and a Comparison 
of Their Characteristics. 



By H. A. Nourse. 

Among the varieties of ducks, recognized by the Amer- 
ican Standard of Perfection, a few are more prominent 
than the rest, namely : Pekins, Aylesburys, Rouens, Mus- 
covys and Indian Runners. Of these varieties the Pekins 
are by considerable the most popular. A large per cent of 
all the market duck business done in America is in this 
variety. 

They occupy practically the same position with respect 
to other varieties of ducks as do fowls of the American 
class with respect to other varieties of fowls. They are not 
as large as the Aylesburys, the Rouens or the Muscovys, 
but they have long, deep bodies, capable of carrying a fine 
amount of meat in proportion to their size and are good 
breeders, rapid growers and easy fatteners. They are very 
good layers in the breeding season and when the young are 
past the first ten days of their age, they will thrive under 
any reasonable conditions. It is trrese characteristics which 
have made them America's most popular ducks. 

The Aylesbury, a breed a little larger than the Pekin, 
according to standard weights, is and has been very popular 
in England, but it is not bred in America to any such extent 
as the Pekin. In general characteristics it is very much 
like the Pekin except that its plumage is pure white while 
the plumage of the Pekin is required to be creamy white. 
The same difference extends to the beaks and legs and feet. 

The handsomest of the larger ducks are the Rouens, 
which are of the same standard weights as the Aylesburys 
and much like them in shape characteristics except that the 



50 TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

Rouens have rather shorter wings. In color they are de- 
cidedly beautiful and this characteristic is responsible for 
much of their popularity, despite the fact that they are rea- 
sonably good for practical purposes. 

Muscovy ducks are the largest of the class and are 
generally considered first class for market purposes. They 
are more active than the ducks we have so far mentioned, 
standing higher from the ground. Their most noteworthy 
characteristics which distinguish their appearance, are the 
crest-like formation of feathers on the head of the drake, 
which lays close to the head when the bird is at rest but 
which js elevated when the specimen is alarmed, and the large 
red face of both the duck and drake. In this respect they 
are somewhat like the White Faced Black Spanish except 
that the face of the Muscovy is red rather than white. They 
are the only ducks which fly and which can roost in trees. 
Later in this book we present an article by Mr. McClave, 
America's best practical authority on water fowls, treating 
of this variety. 

The Indian Runner duck came into this country shortly 
before 1900 and was hailed as the coming market duck. 
Several of the extensive duck growers of the east gave them 
a thorough -trial and found them decidedly inferior to the 
Pekins. The main point against them was their small size, 
which did not permit them to carry sufficient meat to meet 
the demands for weight. It is generally conceded, however, 
that they are excellent layers and that they prove satisfac- 
tory for the use of those who desire to keep a small flock, 
principally for home use. 



MUSCOVY DUCKS. 



A Useful Variety for Practical Purposes — Some of Their 
Peculiar Characteristics. 



By Chas. McClave. 

"The duck that never quacks." Native home South 
America, and found largely in Guiana, Brazil, and adjoin- 
ing equatorial countries. In their native state they are a 
wild variety, and are decidedly different from any other 
domesticated or wild variety of ducks known. A peculiar 
feature of the Muscovys is that they do not quack like all 
other ducks. 

The drakes are at some seasons of the year very pug- 
nacious, especially at laying time, and will battle viciously 
among themselves. Other domestic varieties stand no show 
whatever with a Muscovy in a test of strength and endur- 
ance. 

The Standard of Perfection recognizes two varieties 
of the Muscovy — the Colored and the White. There is 
practically no difference except in color. 

The drakes are large, nearly double the size of the 
ducks, and often weigh nine to eleven pounds each. They 
are large in frame, long in body, and broad across the back, 
short in shank, with broad web feet armed with long, hawk- 
like claws, and are the most powerful of any variety of the 
duck family. Their wings are of good length, very com- 
pact and are their chief means of battle and defense, striking 
sledge hammer blows with surprising rapidity. During the 
autumn and spring we find it necessary to "wing" both 
males and females, as they delight to fly all over the farm, 
and also adjoining farms, simply for exercise. This is 
easily accomplished by cutting off seven flights of one prim- 
ary. They are not a migratory bird and fly simply as a 



52 TURKEYS. DUCKS AND GEESE 

means of transit about their home surroundings. They are 
largely bred at the present time nearly all over the civilized 
world, especially in the United States along the Atlantic 
coast. One drake will mate with ten or a dozen ducks, 
however, if the flock contains enough males they will mate 
in pairs. 

Being less of a puddler and swimmer than other ducks 
they do not require as much water and food ; not over one- 
half as much food as other domestic varieties. 

Muscovys are Good Layers. 

Some writers have described them as "poor, or ordi- 
nary," layers. This we have found incorrect. Having bred 
them for many years and in large numbers, we believe them 
to produce more eggs than any other standard variety. They 
usually commence to lay in April and if not allowed to sit 
will continue until November. 

-Unlike all other varieties of ducks, unless it be the 
little ornamentals — Calls, Carolinas, and Mandarins, 'the 
Muscovys invariaby prepare their nests and deposit their 
eggs, while other domestic varieties must be penned at night, 
otherwise they scatter them broadcast. The Muscovy duck 
prefers a hollow log or stump for her nest, and will usually 
lay fifteen to nineteen eggs for a sitting and all will in- 
variably prove fertile. The young are active and strong 
from the shell and barring accidents all will grow to ma- 
turity. 

Another peculiar feature of the Muscovy is that it re- 
quires five weeks to hatch their eggs, instead of four, the 
time required by all other varieties of the duck and goose 
families. If not allowed to sit, the Muscovy will continue 
to lay until late autumn. 

Unlike other varieties they molt but once a year and be- 
ing natives of countries near the equator they cannot stand 
zero weather as well as some other varieties. 

It is no uncommon sight to see one or more Mus- 



RARE VARIETIES OF DUCKS 53 

covys sitting on the fence or some building just as content- 
ed as if on the ground. The original color of the Mus- 
covy was black and white, the latter predominating. By 
careful selection for many generations the Whites have been 
produced ; however, the young will nearly all have a black- 
patch of feathers on top of the head and occasionally a few 
colored feathers on hollow of back, which usually disappear 
after the first month. 



RARE VARIETIES OF DUCKS. 



A Description of Some of the Varieties That are Compara- 
tively New, or Prized for Their Beauty. 



By F. L. Sewell. 

It is not surprising that lovers of water fowls should 
be pleased to see a greater variety of ducks exhibited at 
the exhibitions of late years. Our breeders of land fowls — 
chicken fanciers, I mean — are pretty sure to show an early 
interest in anything novel in their line. So we were pleas- 
antly surprised at the quality of a pair of Buff ducks shown 
at Boston some time ago. We were told at the Boston Show 
that Mr. Buffington imported these ducks from England. 
They were the first we have ever seen that were truly buff 
all over. 

These ducks are of a tawny buff throughout, slightly 
lighter in front and back of the wing bar, where the Mal- 
lard shows narrow bars of white. Just above the eyes the 
brow is lined with a lighter shade. The color grows some- 
what richer on top of the head. At first glance there is, 
however, little variance in the degrees of buff. They are 
true buff — a rarity in the duck line. 

In form these new ducks are quite unlike any of our 
standard varieties. They are of medium size, heavier than 



54 TURKEYS. DUCKS AND GEESE 

the Indian Runner, but not approaching the weights of the 
largest kinds, such as the Pekins or Rouens. Their bodies 
are plump and well rounded — broad for their height. The 
neck and legs are shorter than most other breeds of domestic 
ducks. 

Indian Runner Ducks. 

It is not an easy undertaking to get our American peo- 
ple to see the value of the little Indian Runner after be- 
ing so long educated to think that everything that is good in 
the way of ducks was to be found in the large breed of 
Pekins that have proven such money makers. It is the pro- 
ductiveness with the sweetness and game flavor of the Run- 
ner's flesh that placed it in the front rank as an egg pro- 
ducer and proves its true value as a table duck. 

The Indian Runners have proven themselves wonder- 
fully generous as egg producers. Besides this, they lay 
in the autumn, and at seasons when other less vigorous 
races are not productive. Their eggs also prove remarkably 
fertile. Some have reported them as unusually early in 
reaching full growth ; this experience may have been obtain- 
ed by others under a more forcing diet than we give ours, 
but as to rapid growth our Pekins have done equally well 
and naturally were larger at the same age, but in point of 
quality of flesh the Pekins would have to be set aside and 
preference given to the Runner. The Pekins could not come 
in the same class as a table delicacy. None of the Eng- 
lish writers seem able to find just how or when the In- 
dian Runner came first into their country and only since 
1893 has it had a prominent place with breeders there. 

We have observed that Indian Runners are exception- 
ally active foragers, not being content with the ordinary 
waddle of most ducks, but so ambitious to find the tidbits 
that hop and crawl, or fly the fields over, that they are im- 
pelled to actually run in chase of their food, obtaining by 
their busy habit a great deal of insect food that would only 



RARE VARIETIES OF DUCKS 



55 



cause aggravation to the sight of less active ducks. They 
are appropriately named "runners/' 

The Runners stand in relation to our domestic ducks as 
the Leghorns do with fowls as egg producers, and in the 




Indian Runner Ducks. 

place among ducks that the Game and Dorking hold among 
chickens as table poultry. 

Black East Indians, 

A small, black breed of ducks of a bettle green gloss 
throughout, the Black East Indian, of highly metallic luster 
is shown in the English shows and a rare little duck it ap- 
pears, too — when at its best. We have never seen it shown 
at its best here in our country. We could not help admir- 
ing them very much at the English shows, where we saw 
them brought to the extreme of condition and luster. 

In England much stress is laid on the smallness of size 
of these little waterfowls. The large Black Cayugas being 
kept, where black ducks are preferred, with weightmess a 
consideration ; the little East Indian being valued for its 
charm of luster and neat form. English writers say that 
they should be almost "dazzling" in brilliancy of gloss and 



56 TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

should weigh as little as two pounds if possible — and that 
some there, at mature age, do not attain that weight. 

Mandarins and Wood Ducks. 

Two of the most superb little gems in the way of water- 
fowls that have occasionally been shown, and have attracted 
a great deal of attention from fanciers and the visiting pub- 
lic, are the little Mandarin ducks of Eastern Asia and the 
Carolina or Wood ducks of our own country. Scarcely a 
brighter plumage can be found than that displayed by the 
drakes of these two species. If fanciers only knew how 7 
well these little fellow 7 s can adapt themselves to a small 
covered aviary, spanning a clear brooklet, more of those who 
possess brooklets on their estates would make places where 
these charming pets could be kept and admired. They 
would be living pictures that would cultivate an interest 
for such charming fowls in most every one who saw them ; 
indeed, I cannot imagine a being who would not be fascinat- 
ed by them. Both of these species pair off and become in- 
separably mated, showing wonderful devotion to their one 
choice. 

The Japanese call the Mandarin duck "Oshidori/' or 
"pair birds." It is commonly related by many who have 
kept them that a bereaved mate has died after apparently 
pining away with grief. 



DUCK RAISING FOR PROFIT. 



A Well Bred Duckling Properly Hatched and Reared is 

Ready for Market and Weighs Five Pounds When 

Eight Weeks Old— How the Work is Done 

on Successful Duck Farms. 



By H. A. Nourse. 

j We can name off-hand a dozen duck farms east of the 
Mississippi river where more than 25,000 ducklings are 
hatched, reared and marketed every season, between the 
first of February and the first of October. These young 
ducks are hatched in February, March, April, May and the 
fore part of June and marketed when eight or nine weeks 
old, when they will dress from four and a half to six pounds 
each and sell for from fourteen to thirty cents a pound. Most 
of them are marketed in New York, Philadelphia and Bos- 
ton, though some of them find their way to other cities. The 
cost of producing a nine weeks' old duckling is variously 
estimated and, of course, depends upon the cost of grain, 
labor, etc., in its particular section of the country. It is ap- 
parent, however, that with grain as high as it is at present, 
nothing but bad management could prevent a considerable 
profit being made when the ducks are sold for the prices 
mentioned. 

The land and buildings required for a large duck busi- 
ness are by no means as expensive as are required to produce 
an equal number of chicks. A flock of one hundred ducks 
will thrive in an inclosure that would not be sufficient for a 
quarter of that number of chickens and after the youngsters 
are ten days old they will stand considerable cold and rough 
weather provided they have a dry and warm brooder to re- 
treat to occasionally. A single boarded shed, made wind 
and water proof by a covering of prepared roofing, contain- 



8 TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 



ing a heater and pipe system sufficient to heat the hovers 
to the right temperature, will be as satisfactory for the rear- 
ing of clucks as a much more expensive building will be 
for the rearing* of chickens. 

Incubators Do the Hatching. 

All the hatching on these duck farms is done by incuba- 
tors, which are operated in buildings constructed for the 
purpose, most of which are partly under ground and partly 
above. The brooding is done almost entirely by hot water 
pipe systems, very much like those used for brooding chicks. 
The box hovers sometimes used for chicks are not at all 
adapted to the needs of young ducks, which require more 
ventilation than is possible in these hovers. The style of 
hover used on most duck ranches is a sort of cover or plat- 
form of boards, which rests flat upon the pipes, extending 
three or four inches beyond them on each side and is fur- 
nished with a hanging curtain or skirt of felt or flannel 
which reaches nearly to the sand upon the floor. For bed- 
ding these brooders, sand is preferred to chaff or any other 
substance. 

The Best Breeding Stock. 

Almost all the market duck business of this country is 
done with Pekin ducks. Although it is desirable to have 
all breeding stock of good size, extra large specimens sel- 
dom prove as satisfactory as breeders as do those of medium 
size, or a little larger. The former almost always produce a 
smaller number of less fertile eggs than the latter under 
the same conditions. 

Xot more than four ducks should be allowed to each 
drake in the early part of the season and not more than 
six during the warm weather. Breeding ducks change con- 
dition very rapidly and on that account the eggs from each 
pen should be marked when collected so that a lack of fer- 
tility discovered when testing the eggs may be traced to the 
pen in which the eggs were laid. 



DUCK RAISING FOR PROFIT 



59 



Care must be taken not to allow the breeders to get too 
fat or very thin and even when they are apparently in good 
breeding condition, it is frequently necessary to change the 
males in order to get the best results. The pens should be 
bedded well so that all eggs laid may be kept clean without 
washing, as washing injures the egg somewhat by remov- 
ing from the shell some of the oily substance which na- 




Pekin Ducks Enjoying - a Swim 



ture intended should remain there. Duck eggs cannot be 
kept as long as hen eggs and hatch well. Ten days is as 
long as they can be kept with safety. 

Care of the Young Ducks. 

The care of the duck eggs during incubation is not much 
different from the care of hen's eggs ; but after the ducks 
hatch, if a good per cent come out, it is necessary to remove 
the early ones as soon as the hatch is completed, or they are 



oo TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

likely to crowd the later hatched ones and injure or kill 
them. Young ducks are far easier to handle in brooders 
than young chicks. Drive a flock of young ducks out of # a 
brooder and in again twice and they will thereafter find the 
way themselves unless they suddenly become chilled or are 
frightened. 

Ducklings are very timid. A sudden or unusual move- 
ment on the part of the care-taker, or the presence of a 
strange person or an animal will frighten the youngsters 
out of a day's growth. 

Fully seventy-five per cent of the ducks reared and 
marketed are brooded under pipe systems heated by hot wa- 
ter. This method of brooding is particularly well adapted 
to ducks which are not good climbers and will not readily 
accustom themselves to going up a steep incline, such as is 
frequently necessary to gain access to a lamp brooder. Y r et, 
if ducks are to be raised on a small scale, it will scarcely pay 
to install a hot water system and lamp brooders may be 
used ; but the incline should be as moderate as possible and 
more attention paid to teaching the ducks to ascend and de- 
scend during the first three days in the brooder. If this 
is done faithfully, the ducklings may be depended upon to 
find their way in and out, thereafter. 

Like chicks, the little ducks should be confined pretty 
closely to the hover during the first twenty-four hours, 
though to cover the hover too closely, thereby preventing 
sufficient ventilation, is to invite disaster, for the little ducks 
must have air to breathe and plenty of it. 

Mash Food for Little Ducks. 

Dry food will not do for. ducklings which must have 
mash, fed fairly damp, though not wet, until they are at 
least four weeks old and market ducks need have no hard 
or dry grain at any time. The water should be given the 
brood as soon as it is placed in the brooder, but food should 
be withheld until they have become somewhat accustomed to 
their new home, perhaps twelve hours. 



DUCK RAISING FOR PROFIT 61 

The first meal should consist of stale (not mouldy) 
bread, moistened with milk, in which is mixed fine grit to 
make about five per cent of the mixture. This ration will 
be very satisfactory for two days when cornmeal and bran, 
in proportion of two parts of bran to one of meal, may be 
added, a little at first and the amount gradually increased 
until but little bread is used at the end of ten days. After 
the fourth day a little good quality beef scraps can be add- 
ed with advantage and the amount may be increased until it 
is seven or eight per cent at the end of two weeks. 

Grit Must Be Furnished. 

No matter how well they are cared for, or how carefully 
they are fed, young ducks will not thrive unless they are 
supplied with plenty of coarse sand or fine grit. This they 
need to assist them to digest their food and without it they 
will literally starve to death in the midst of plenty. 

Unlike chicks, they wall not obtain a sufficient supply 
from hoppers or grit boxes nor will they pick it up from the 
floor of their pen ; it must, therefore, be furnished in their 
food. 

Plenty of Water Required. 

A duckling cannot eat a square meal without taking 
almost as many swallows of water as he does mouthfuls of 
food. He fills his beak full of mash and then rushes to the 
water fountain, where he obtains water to wash it down. 
If he cannot obtain w T ater he is quite likely to choke, and fre- 
quent losses are sustained from that cause. When the duck- 
lings are old enough to be fed out of doors, water may be 
given in troughs or any sort of utensil in which the 
youngsters will not soil the drink by getting into it. When 
they are fed indoors, or in the brooder, the problem be- 
comes more difficult, for fifty young ducks will distribute 
the contents of a two gallon drink fountain over a space four 
feet square in five minutes. It is advisable on that account 
to set the fountain in a shallow pan so that the water will 



62 TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

not cover so large a surface when spilled by the drinking 
ducklings. 

If the water fountain or dish can be placed upon a floor 
of slats through which the water will drain and beneath 
which it will be carried away in some manner, it is a distinct 
advantage. 

The duck raiser who has plenty of water, piped to his 
buildings, can and should construct a trough, in front of the 
yards, through which a stream of fresh water may run 
while the ducks are eating. If this trough is placed against 
the fence (which should be of vertical slats) the youngsters 
will be able to obtain plenty of water and cannot get into 
it to soil it or tip it over. 

Although young ducks will stand more neglect and live 
than .will chicks, they will not thrive and be profitable if 
they are not well and intelligently cared for. It seems to be 
the impression in some quarters (among those not acquaint- 
ed with the duck industry as at present conducted) that 
mud and other forms of dampness are substantial aids to a 
duck's prosperity. That, however, is far from the fact. 
Though a young duck will revel in a pond of water and will 
prefer a mud puddle to no water at all, neither damp quar- 
ters nor a swimming pool is necessary or even an advantage. 
The best market ducks are. raised wdiere they have no water 
except to drink and where the drinking water is so supplied 
that they cannot get into it or distribute it over the sur- 
rounding ground. 

The brooding houses and coops should be thoroughly 
dry and frequently cleaned. 

Food for Growing Ducks. 

. The requirements of the growing ducks are very simple. 
A mash made of one part cornmeal and two parts bran, 
with ten per cent of high quality beef scraps added and five 
per cent of coarse sand or fine grit makes a mash on which 
the ducklings will thrive. Although they are not particular 



DUCK RAISING FOR PROFIT 63 

about the make-up of their ration they require plenty of it 
and should be fed at least four times a day until they are 
four weeks old, after which three times is sufficient. The 
mash should be mixed (preferably with whole or skim milk), 
a little damp, but not sloppy, and fed in troughs. A small 
shovel should be used to distribute this mash, which must be 
placed in the troughs quickly or the young ducks will con- 
sume it as fast as the feeder places it within their reach. 



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This means that the stronger members of the flock will get 
most of the food and the weaker ones go hungry. When 
the flock has finished eating, the troughs should be cleaned 
of any food that remains and turned over or placed upright 
against the fence ; if it is convenient to remove them from 
the yards entirely, so much the better. 

Green Food Must Be Provided. 

Providing green food for a large flock of ducks is not! 
an easy matter if these ducks are confined in yards where 
there is no grass to be had, which is always the case in the 
yards where ducks are kept for any considerable length of 
time. A plot of fresh grass kept green by frequent water- 
ing and tender by keeping it mowed fairly short is of much 
value to the duck raiser. A feeder can mow 7 on such a plot 
a half bushel, bushel, or more, fresh grass in the morning 
when the dew is on and furnish the young ducks all they 



CM TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

will eat. If green clover can be obtained it is especially good 
for this purpose and even prepared dry clover is useful if 
no green material can be found. 

Suitable Shade Necessary. 

Young ducks are often injured by the direct rays of the 
sun and growing ducks will not make so good use of the food 
consumed if exposed to the noon day heat as when they are 
protected from it. The yards can frequently be located 
where the ducks can find shade under trees or bushes ; where 
that is impossible, artificial shade must be provided by build- 
ing sheds or tents. Stakes three feet long, driven one foot 
into the ground, may have burlap, cotton cloth or canvas 
stretched between them to form an inexpensive but satis- 
factory protection from the sun's rays. If the ducks are 
well feathered, they require shelter from storms much less 
than shelter from the sun, in warm weather, and may be 
placed anywhere on the place where it is convenient to 
build the yards and where the grass is green. If the yards 
can be moved on to fresh locations as soon as the grass is 
consumed, it will not be necessary to feed any sort of green 
food. 

Ducks are Easily Frightened. 

Although anyone who is not acquainted with ducks 
would not imagine, if observing a flock from some little dis- 
tance, that they are easily frightened, it is a fact that the 
slightest unusual noise, the presence of a person to whom 
they are not accustomed, or the approach of a strange ani- 
mal will so frighten the ducks that they will lose in an hour 
more flesh and strength than can be built up by two days of 
good feeding. It is necessary, for best results, to guard 
against the intrusion of both persons and animals. Duck 
yards should not be located close to a traveled path or road- 
way, but away from possibility of interference as much as 
possible. 



DUCK RAISING FOR PROFIT 65 

To fatten a well-grown, healthy duckling is an easy 
matter. Mix a mash of three parts cornmeal, one part 
bran and one part beef scraps with skim milk, add a little 
grit and a little charcoal and give the ducks as much of th^ 
mixture as they will eat three times a day, removing any 
that is left after each meal. Provide plenty of water and 
your ducks will be fat in from seven to ten days. 

If yellow skin and flesh are required by your market, 
feed plenty of green food ; if white skin and flesh are prefer- 
red, omit the green food entirely. 

Ducks are killed by bleeding through the mouth from a 
cut made by a sharp knife in the arteries at each side of the 
throat, back of the base of the brain. The writer prefers 
to stun the specimen by a sharp blow on the head, made 
with a light club, before sticking. Dry picking is seldom 
practiced on the largest duck farms although a few employ 
it to satisfy a certain demand in their markets. 

The duck to be scalded "is dipped in water, which is 
almost at the boiling point, as soon as life is extinct and after 
thoroughly sousing three times, it is removed and wrapped 
closely in a piece of canvas. There it is allowed to stand two 
or three minutes to thoroughly loosen the feathers, when the 
canvas is removed and picking begins. It requires but lit- 
tle experience to pick a scalded duck well and rapidly. When 
the picking is finished the carcass should be placed in cold 
water and allowed to remain there until the bodily heat is 
entirely destroyed, when it may be removed and hung in the 
air to dry. Ducks are shipped to the wholesale market un- 
drawn, but when sold at retail at a nearby market they are 
usually drawn and the heads removed. 

Wherever a market can be found which will pay an 
average price of twelve cents or over per pound during the 
season duck growing is profitable if the methods used are 
up-to-date. 



PRODUCING MARKET DUCKS 



The Pekin Has Assured the Success of Commercial Duck 

Raising — How the Business is Conducted at a 

Profit — Care of the Breeders — Hatching, 

Rearing and Marketing. 



By Geo. H. Pollard. 

The production of ducks is an important branch of the 
poultry business. While less commonly used than fowl 
and turkeys they are usually in good demand and may, if 
intelligently handled, be counted upon to pay good profits 
on the cost of production. 

Of the many varieties of ducks only two, or three 
at most, claim any special attention as utility birds. From 
time to time interested breeders dress up a boom for some 
new aspirant, but so far in this country there has been only 
one breed, the Pekin, which could properly be called popu- 
lar, or which has proven profitable in the open market — the 
criterion by which all ducks, and eventually all other poul- 
try, must be judged. Owing to several reasons ducks have 
not been so much the favorite of the fancier as have lancl 
fowl, and the sales of breeding stock and eggs for hatching 
are, therefore, less frequent and less profitable. In the mid- 
dle nineties there was quite a boom on in duck raising and 
more or less in exhibiting. This boom gradually petered 
out, and since then the business has, with the usual ups 
and downs of all industries, had a substantial and a steady 
growth in production and the resultant profits have been 
of a very reasonable average. 

The Pekin duck grew to its great popularity solely on 
its own merit as a market bird. Before its coming in the 
seventies "puddle" ducks, a nondescript bird made up of 



OS TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

Rouen, white and scrub bred ducks were all the market had 
to depend upon for a supply. The great bulk of the birds 
were grass-fed, and allowed to run at large until around the 
holiday season, when they were caught up, scalded and 
sent to market. The result was a carcass as tough as a 
rubber heel and a frame painfully devoid of meat. Nat- 
urally, such goods did not appeal to the fastidious trade, 
and the buying was mostly by such new, or recent, arrivals 
as "used to eat them at home." Manifestly, a "boom" was 
scarcely probable under the conditions. With the introduc- 
tion of the Pekin a new day dawned, and it took only a 
very short time for duck producers to appreciate the fact 
that at last they had something in the duck line which 
would appeal to the appetite of practically all who had the 
price ; that they had and could offer a carcass not made up of 
sinews and hope but covered with juicy, dark meat, which 
was both pleasing to the taste and tender to the teeth. 

How the Demand Was Created. 

The vicinity of New York City has always been the 
principal seat of duck culture in this country. No doubt 
this condition is due to the fact that New York and its 
great market for food stuffs has always been the home of 
a large foreign born population, and it is to the demand of 
tHese classes that duck raising on a large scale is primarily 
due. The next avenue to the family table was through the 
hotel and the restaurant. High class resorts are always on 
the lookout for new and novel dishes. Cost does not count 
so the food is satisfactory and a good many, with appetites 
excited by the novelty, appreciate food more when eaten in 
public places, or at least away from the familiar surround- 
ings of home, carry away with them pleasant memories of 
its merits, and plan to repeat the sensation by its repro- 
duction at the family table. So sure is this avenue of intro- 
duction that makers of meritorious food stuffs and drinks 
often make great discounts to popular public eating places 



PRODUCING MARKET DUCKS 69 

in order to get the product before the public in the most 



convincing manner. 



A serious drawback to the more rapid spread of "duck 
on the table" is that — sorry as we are to admit it — duck is 
not so economically adapted to the family table as are most 
other kinds of fowl. What there is of meat is most de- 
licious, but the waste is more in proportion than in turkeys 
and chickens, and though there are large numbers who 
buy "regardless," the great body of the possible consumers 
consider this point, and for this, if for no other reason, the 
duck will always follow the others in popularity and in 
sales. 

Duck Eggs and Production. 

There is a good sale for duck eggs for table and culi- 
nary uses in the spring and early summer months, especially 
about Easter season. The duck begins to lay the last of 
February or the first of- March under usual conditions. If fed 
a grain and scrap ration young birds may be got to laying 
in the fall, but they rarely continue steadily through the 
season, though they may be induced to lay quite freely 
through December. Then they gradually increase until 
they are at flood-tide in April. They begin to slacken in 
June and are practically through in July. The period of 
laying differs some according to the location and climate, 
being earlier in the warmer sections of the country. Rouen 
ducks are good layers and good table birds, but their dark 
plumage and lesser size count them out as market birds. 
The Indian Runner has had a good deal of advertising, but, 
while holding a place of its own in the estimation of its 
breeders, it cannot be called in any sense a rival of the 
Pekin. 

The first eggs the duck lays, if kept in confinement and 
fed rather stimulating foods, rarely hatch well. They 
are usually quite infertile and many of the germs do not 
live through the hatching period, which is twenty-eight 
days for Pekin ducks, and about thirty or thirty-two for the 



to TURKEYS. DUCKS AND GEESE 

Muscovy — a duck which, but for the fact that the sexes 
vary greatly in size, would be quite the strongest competitor 
the Pekin has. It carries a lot of breast meat, which is of a 
very good flavor. 

Care of Breeding Ducks. 

Ducks are not seriously troubled by any degree of cold, 
but if early laying is desired, they should have a reasonable 
protection from storms and drafts. If allowed the run of 
a large yard or green plot and given an open front house 
they will do well, but if a stream or waterway can be in- 
cluded the eggs will hatch better. In the early part of the 
season five ducks may be mated to one drake ; later, in April 
and May, it will probably be found best to increase the 
number of ducks. The house should be kept littered with 
some soft material. Many use straw and chaff, which 
should be kept reasonably dry. This is a hard job as a 
duck seems to spread dampness without half trying. Planer 
shavings make the best litter as they keep dry better and 
the top can be easily removed and a dry surface is again 
exposed. No nest boxes are necessary as the ducks will 
hollow out nests and will cover the eggs when they leave 
the nest. In cold weather the eggs must be gathered early 
to avoid chilling. This is more necessary with ducks than 
hens as they usually lay early in the morning. The eggs 
can be hatched under hens- or in incubators ; ducks do not 
make satisfactory sitters. 

Incubating Duck Eggs. 

All the big ranches use incubators and brood arti- 
ficially. Nine eggs in cold weather and eleven in warm 
are enough to put under a hen. In incubators they should 
be turned and tested the same as hens' eggs. They may 
be tested successfully on the fifth day and all the infertile 
ones will be good for cooking purposes. Make a second 
test about the twelfth day but don't cook what are then 
taken out — at least not for the table. Duck eggs are heavv, 



PRODUCING MARKET DUCKS 71 

and they must be carefully handled to avoid cracking; they 
must be turned gently as once cracked they are spoiled. 
The temperature of the incubator should be the same as 
for hens' eggs. Do not turn the eggs after they begin to 
pip. Ducklings often, indeed, usually, begin to pip about 
36 to 48 hours before they break the shell, and during this 
period they should be left entirely undisturbed. 

Feeding has a good deal to do with hatchable eggs as 
well as the number laid. By a system of feeding which sup- 
plies a highly nitrogenous ration throughout the winter the 
ducks can be induced to lay very early and to keep laying 
pretty steadily after beginning. December and January 
eggs do not hatch so well as the later ones, and it is an 
open question whether, in the long run, the forcing does 
not hurt the hatching quality of the subsequent eggs to a 
greater degree than the profits from the comparatively few 
early birds will overbalance. The special market condi- 
tions, with which each producer has to reckon, will prob- 
ably point to the proper conclusion. 

Ducks are rapacious feeders and will stow away a lot 
of food. If too concentrated, too rich, they will overdo the 
job and will go off their feed, or their feet. Where they 
have a water way or free range they will stand heavier 
feeding than when confined. The ration may be made up 
in various ways, but should generally be fed soft, in the 
form of a mash. The duck naturally feeds on soft roots, 
grasses and water plants and though long divorced from 
•primitive ways we must still consider some of his instincts. 
Many have tried complicated mixtures of corn meal, wheat 
bran, red dog flour, gluten feed, and other forms of cereal 
"sawdust." • It is doubtful if anything is better than a plain 
ration of two parts wheat bran, two parts corn meal, one 
part best beef scrap, one part cut clover or alfalfa and one 
part of red dog flour mixed to a crumbly mash with water 
and fed night and morning. During the winter months re- 
duce the beef scrap one-half and add meal in its place. From 



TURKEYS. DUCKS AND GEESE 

January first give a noon feed of cracked corn and oats. 
Feed what soft feed they will clean up within fifteen or 
twenty minutes and enough grain at noon to give them a 
substantial bite. Ducks lay big eggs and they can't manu- 
facture them unless they have the raw material to work on. 
Always have water nearby at feed time, and in warm 
weather it should always be accessible in considerable quan 1 
tities and reasonably clean. A store of ^crushed oyster shell 
should be within reach and grit or gravel supplied. As a 
rule duck eggs hatch well where the breeding stock has 
proper care and range. As with hens, there are good sea- 
sons and bad seasons and no one seems to know the reason, 
though all have an opinion. 

Shipping Duck Eggs. 

Ducks' eggs are heavier and do not stand shipping as 
well as hens' eggs. While they may be and are shipped 
long distances and hatch well, there is less certainty of ar- 
rival in good condition and a successful hatch than with 
the hens' eggs. Only very fresh eggs should be shipped, 
as with age the yolk and white become less firm and the 
jar of shipping churns them up and leaves a good many in 
bad shape for incubation. Before setting eggs shipped 
from a distance they should be allowed to rest for twenty- 
four to thirty-six hours. To get an idea of this condition, 
test a few with a good egg tester and the condition of the 
yolk may be readily determined. 

Brooding the Ducklings. 

Ducklings are stronger and hardier than chickens and 
will ordinarily live through more hardships, but it is just 
as well to make their way as plain and easy as possible. 
The brooder should have a hover heat of ninety to ninety- 
five degrees when the newly hatched birds are put in. 
Regulate after that time by the evident needs of the duck- 
lings. Watch closely and don't let them get to crowding 
as they certainly will if too cold. On the other hand too 



PRODUCING MARKET DUCKS 73 

great heat means weak legs, and weak legs in ducks means 
disaster and no less. Ducklings grow surprisingly fast and 
need less heat than chickens of the same age. By the time 
they are three weeks old they will probably require not over 
eighty degrees of hover heat, but, as always, let the duck- 
lings decide just how much. Where only a few are raised 
of course hens will be used and* the hen and the ducklings 
will readily adjust themselves to the right conditions. 

Simple Methods of Feeding. 

Feed the little fellows according to any of the accept- 
ed methods and they will do well. Perhaps as economical 
a way is to mix equal parts of wheat bran and corn meal 
to which should be added, at first, two per cent of the best 
beef scraps. At one week old feed five per cent scrap, 
working gradually up on the proportion until at four weeks 
they are getting fifeen per cent, and more if they can as- 
similate it without bowel trouble or diarrhoea. Animal 
food in the form of beef scrap, milk, fish or other protein 
carrying food is absolutely essential to the rapid growth 
of ducks — or for that matter any other kind of poultry. 
Some feeders make a practice of using a larger proportion 
of corn meal the last few weeks before killing, but we have 
never found any gain in this method. Ducks are gross 
feeders, but are notional about changes and when contem- 
plated the change must be made. with care and very grad- 
ually, otherwise the birds will go ofif their regular feed and 
every meal lost means a shrinkage in profits. While per- 
haps no fowl makes more rapid growth where conditions 
are favorable, none shrink more rapidly when either food 
or management is faulty. 

If the brooder floors are sanded or graveled there will 
be no real need for other grit the first week, though to salve 
the feelings of those who wish to help them along a little 
sand or prepared chick grit may be mixed in the feed. 
Water should be always within reach. Always means night 




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PRODUCING MARKET DUCKS 75 

and day. Use any type of fountain which can be easily 
cleaned and filled and into which they can get only their 
bills. They should be able to get the full length of the bill 
into the water else there is always danger of the nostrils 
clogging and making trouble. Have the water near the 
food which may be fed in long, narrow, shallow troughs 
so the feed will be well distributed and accessible without 
too much crowding. The water should be near, as ducks 
wash dowm the food and run constantly from trough to 
fountain and return. Any avoidable waste of effort counts 
on birds that are supposed to be in prime condition for 
market at ten weeks old and we want to raise table poul- 
try and not sprinters. Grit and oyster shell should be handy 
for their use. The shell may be something of an extra, but 
they will eat more or less and, as they are marketed un- 
drawn, it may be the last feed eaten and it weighs well. 
Small Flocks Grow Best. 

A hundred or more ducklings may be brooded togeth- 
er, but it pays better to divide them into smaller flocks. 
Fifty to sixty is about right. Let them run out on the 
ground about as soon as they can find their way back to 
the hovers and watch lest they take a notion to huddle in 
the run outside the hover or out of doors. They sometimes 
do this and get chilled before they find their way back. As 
soon as the nights get warm enough, get the ducklings out 
of the brooder house into cold (unheated) buildings. 

If kept in a cool house they will feed better and henc^ 
grow faster. After settled warm weather arrives not much 
more than a roof or sun shelter is necessary. In fact, more 
is detrimental. The young birds need protection from rain 
and shade from the sun. The yards should be kept as clean 
and dry as possible ; this at best is a hard thing to do, but 
w r allowing in filth is not conducive to the best results with 
ducklings. 

Separate the flocks by wire netting of the ordinary 
two-inch mesh, thirty inches high. This can be walked over 



;6 TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

by the masculine attendant, and climbed over by others. 
Twenty-four inches will do, but the added height makes a 
sure thing, and all cheap fences sag more or less. 

Place only as many ducklings in one pen and yard as 
can be killed and dressed at one job. This is important 
as the birds have to be handled over and being naturally 
timid the fright causes considerable shrinkage. Where the 
flock is larger than can be killed in the day's work, those 
which are left are generally thrown off their feed for a 
day or two. Sometimes they get w T eak legs and occasionally 
one drops dead from the fright. In catching do not un- 
necessarily rush them about. Manage to have a corner 
where they can be slowly driven and confined with a light 
board panel. If the whole corner is boarded they will strug- 
gle less than when against the wire fence. 

Pen only a few at a time, and such as are unfit for 
killing should be released and put into another yard. Han- 
dle by the necks and do not grasp them any harder than is 
necessary to hold them. Never handle by the legs. They 
are easily lamed or broken. Keep them in a quiet place while 
awaiting killing. It frightens them less, and it is just as 
well to be as merciful as possible in doing what is, at best, 
a disagreeable job. 

Killing, Picking and Pinning. 

For the best eastern markets ducks need to be drv 
picked. * For some other markets they may be scalded. In 
either case the age and condition must be right if the car- 
cass is to make a satisfactory showing. A few pinfeathers 
may be overlooked, but where there are many, the carcass 
has a coarse, honey-combed appearance which grows more 
unsightly the longer it is kept. This growth of pin-feath- 
ers starts at from ten to twelve weeks old, according to the 
forcing which has been done. In dry picking the duckling 
is held firmly under one arm, or between the picker's knees, 
while the roof of the mouth is cut deeply across by a sharp, 
rather long bladed knife. This cut should sever the arteries 



PRODUCING MARKET DUCKS 77 

and induce free bleeding from the mouth. Many stun the 
duck with a hard blow on the head before sticking, and 
some strike the head after. We prefer the first method as 
being more painless while the "bleeding out" is quite as 
effectual. If the operation is properly performed it seems 
to paralyze the nerves, or so affect them as to loosen the 
feathers and cause them to pull more easily and with less 
danger of tearing the skin. Inexperienced pickers will do 
better to pull the feathers in the same direction they grow 
by grasping a few at a time near the roots and pulling 
gently, but steadily, until they loosen. If there are pinfeath- 
ers which are difficult to pull, take a sharp knife, a good 
shoe knife is commonly used, and get it as sharp as a razor. 
Draw this carefully over the skin against the pinfeathers, 
which may be wet, and shave them off close to the skin. 
Pick the body clean. Leave the feathers on the wing from 
the second joint, all but the flight feathers, and on the head 
and about half the neck. Leave the head, wings and feet 
on and do not draw the entrails if to be shipped to market. 
Where the birds are scalded before picking they are 
dipped into hot water and held just long enough to loosen 
the feathers. Some little practice is necessary to enable one 
to tell just how long to immerse them. They are then taken 
out, the feathers are quickly removed and the carcass is 
plumped in cold water. The feet and head may be held 
out. Some who have only a few wrap the bird in a cloth 
or blanket dipped in boiling water and steam the carcass 
enough to loosen the feathers. In either case the skin must 
not be cooked. Scalded birds do not keep so well as dry 
picked and they are less pleasing to the fastidious eye. If 
kept long they discolor more and have a mottled appear- 
ance which is not attractive. If the legs and feet are much 
scalded the skin peels off and they dry up. 
The Profit in Feathers, 
Whether scalded or dry picked, the feathers should be 
carefully saved. In picking, the quill feathers should be 



7$ TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

thrown aside and only the soft body feathers kept. If dry 
picked these need no treatment other than exposure, in some 
dry, airy place, to a slight draft of air. Keep them out of 
the direct rays of the sun. Stir occasionally so all may dry 
thoroughly, and bag and ship when sufficient have accumu- 
lated. Wet feathers must be dried and the big establish- 
ments have piped drying rooms for curing them. White 
duck feathers make the bulk of the "live geese" feathers 
sold and are constantly increasing in value. They may be 
worth anywhere from twenty-five to fifty cents per pound 
at wholesale, according to the place and care which has been 
exercised in keeping them clean and dry. They are hardly 
satisfactory for bedding purposes until they have been 
steam cured. This operation removes the oily, "duck" smell 
which otherwise is in evidence as long as they are used. 

Cooling and Packing. 
As fast as the ducks are picked drop each carcass into 
a barrel or tub of cold water to remove the animal heat. It 
is important that all heat should be removed as quickly as 
possible in order that the carcass may harden and keep well. 
After a reasonable time take the body from the water, rinse 
out the bill and mouth, clean the feet and legs and repack 
in ice water until ready to ship to market. If the wings are 
tied close to the sides of the carcass with a clean white cord 
they will hold in better shape arid look more attractive. 
Let the string go clear around the body about midway of 
its length and tie as tight as possible. Pull the breast meat 
full in front and let it harden in that shape. In shipping 
pack either in barrels or boxes. If shipping to a distance, 
barrels are the handiest. In the bottom of the barrel make 
a small hole or two and put in a layer of ice. On this put 
two or three layers of ducks closely packed and follow with 
more ice. Continue in this w r ay until the barrel is full and 
top off with a good lump of ice and cover with burlap, or 
head. Sugar barrels are first rate carriers where there are 
sufficient ducks to fill them. 



PRODUCING MARKET DUCKS 79 

Ducks properly cooled and packed in this manner 
may be shipped long distances in pretty hot weather and 
keep well. A good deal depends on proper cooling as soon 
as killed. If this part is neglected it is pretty sure to re- 
sult in trouble and loss. The duckling is grown so quickly 
and the flesh is so soft that it heats quickly and once heated 
loss is certain. In shipping to commission merchants it is 
well to mark the number of birds and the weights on the 
package. 

It is always more satisfactory to have the stuff sold be- 
fore shipping or at least partially placed. There are lots 
of honest commission men perhaps, but it is asking a good 
deal of any man to expect him to hold the balance exactly 
true where he both buys the goods and makes the price. 
There is no doubt that a host of the dealers make a good 
part of their profits out of their pickings from the small 
and occasional shippers. 

The things worth remembering in duck raising are 
that a few ducks will pay for family uses, but seldom for 
market ; where there is a limited demand which can be di- 
rectly supplied by the producer there is money in ducks; 
where only a few are raised and they have to be shipped to 
a distant market it will not pay ; the producer must limit 
production to what can be personally marketed or produce 
enough thousands to make a business which shall war- 
rant the outlay of considerable capital and time ; between 
these opposite points there is only trouble and most often 
loss instead of gain. 




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A PROFITABLE DUCK BUSINESS 



A Detailed Description of an Up-to-date Successful Duck 

Farm — The Manner of Hatching, Rearing and 

Fattening the Stock— Matters That 

Affect the Profits. 



By Arthur C. Smith. 

The Robinson Company of Massachusetts raises ducks 
for the market. At present that is its sole business. Some 
years 10,000 ducks are raised. These ducks are sold in 
both the New York and Boston markets and have brought 
on the average one dollar per head. Authorities tell us that 
it costs about 50 cents a head to rear a duck till it is 10 to 
11 weeks old, or to the marketable age. This would leave 
the company something like $5,000.00 for its season's work. 
You are astonished and ask if it is possible to make $5,- 
000.00 raising 10,000' ducks. Frankly, the writer does not 
know, he has never raised ducks. But were you to allow 
him to judge, he would say that should the business show 
a profit of 25 to 30 cents per duck, there would still be left 
a good business proposition which would include a fair 
dividend to the stockholders and a good and well-deserved 
salary to the manager. 

Hatching and Rearing the Ducks. 

The ducklings are hatched in the incubator house. 
This building is built partly underground and is 32x37 feet 
on the floor, one and one-half stories high. The loft is 
used for storage. Seventeen special duck machines do all 
the hatching. 

Hatching begins in January and ends in May. Once 
hatched, the ducklings are put into the nursery brooder. 
This building is 170 feet long and 15 feet wide. It has 



82 



TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 



an aisle on the north side with hovers next to the aisle. 
Each pen is 4 feet wide and 11 feet long. The hot water 
heater is in the west end of the building. This house is 
built with the ground and slopes toward the west. The 
hovers are heated by two 2-inch pipes, being natural flow 
and return. When first hatched, the ducklings are put at 
the east end of the house as that is the warmer, being 
the highest. This is contrary to the general procedure as 
the end next to the heater is, other things being equal, 
the warmer. As they grow older the young ducks are 
moved down toward the heater. 

At the age of two weeks they are transferred to the 
double brooder house, so called on account of its construc- 
tion. This is built with an aisle on both sides of which 
are pens. Those on the south side have hovers while those 
on the north side are for older ducks and are open. The 
house is 28 feet wide and 223 feet long. The south side 
pens, into which the 2-weeks-old ducks are put, are 
4x15 feet. These hovers are heated by two 2-inch flow 




The Incubator House of the Robinson Duck Company. 



A PROFITABLE DUCK BUSINESS 



83 




The Nursery Brooder House of the Robinson Duck Company. 



pipes while the return pipe is outside of the hovers. This 
return is a 3-inch pipe and is placed in the aisle against 
the hover. This arrangement gives considerable heat to the 
building. 

To guard against extremely cold weather, a steam 
heater was installed. The pipes from this run overhead 
and when in use, heat the whole- building. This heat is 
very essential early in the season as the older ducks on 
the north side of the aisle have no hovers and no other 
heat than that provided for the building in general. These 
ducks are moved into the north pens at the age of four 
weeks. These pens are about 10 feet square. The ducks 
are kept here till they are seven weeks old and then they 
are moved to the fattening shed. 



The Fattening Shed. 

This is a large shed 200 feet long and about 20 feet 



wide. 



It has an aisle running through the center. 



The 



84 TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

ducks are here prepared for market and have large outside 
runs but not free range ; nor do they ever have, but the 
older thev grow the more room is allowed them. Thus, in 
the nursery building the outside yards are no more than 
six feet long and in the double brooder house those on the 
south side are but little longer. Those on the north side 
are very good size and give the ducks a good chance to 
exercise but not to range. 

In the fattening shed, a cross-section would resemble 
the letter A: The sills rest on posts about three feet from 
the ground and the ridge is about 18 feet from the ground. 
This makes a very peculiar looking building and it was, 
at first, very hard to see the use of so much waste air 
space. The manager explained that it was built so to keep 
the ducks cool in very hot weather. 

The house is also provided with a large ventilator at 
the top of the building. This allows the hot air which has 
accumulated in the top of the building to escape. From 
here the ducks, as they become fit, are taken to the killing 
house, which adjoins this shed. This room is equipped 
with three large cooling tanks and a large cool box. The 
tanks were full at the time of my visit and Air. Robinson 
showed me several ducks with evident pride, and no won- 
der, for they were round, plump fellows with white flesh 
and no suggestion of the over-fat, greasy duck. It is not 
surprising that the duck market is reported to be broad- 
ening when we consider the quality that is being produced 
on this farm. 

A Convenient Feed Room. 

The feed room is also directly connected with the fat- 
tening shed. This room furnishes no novelties but is a 
good, handy room such as is seen on many poultry and 
duck farms. Bins are arranged along the sides and a 
large mixing trough pretty nearly takes all the room at one 
end. The writer had the pleasure of seeing a double por- 
tion of mash mixed and it was certainlv done on the 



A PROFITABLE DUCK BUSINESS 85 

wholesale plan. Everything was measured by the double 
bucket full. The food fed these ducks is practically the 
same at all ages and all meals. It is invariably mash. It 
consists of seven different ingredients — corn meal, shred- 
ded wheat, red dog flour, gluten meal, bran, oil meal and 
grit. The afternoon that I was there, the 1,600 in the 
fattening sheds were to have 18 buckets of this mash. 

A Warmed Breeding House. 

The accompanying illustration shows the main duck 
house. In this house the breeding ducks are kept in 




Part of the Fattening- Shed of the Robinson Duck Company. 

breeding season. This house is heated in the winter so 
that the eggs will not chill. It is during the early morn- 
ing hours that the ducks lay and before an attendant could 
collect the eggs they would be chilled and therefore spoiled 
for hatching purposes. As the early ducks pay best, it is 
highly important that the eggs be kept at a temperature 
that will preserve the fertility. Forty degrees F. is found 
to be safe. This house has been heated by steam but Mr. 
Robinson finds that hot water suits him better and is 
changing the system. 




ft 

s 

o 
O 



A PROFITABLE DUCK BUSINESS 87 

All the houses are lighted with electric lights. Light 
during the night is absolutely necessary with ducks, to 
keep them quiet. They are timid in the dark; every 
shadow or the slightest shifting or change in the light will 
set them running and squawking. With a light they are 
perfectly quiet. 

The Keynote to Success. 

Much might be said about this plant and one could 
dwell upon many of the noticeable features that insure the 
success of this venture. A few cannot in justice to the 
reader be overlooked. The keynote to the whole manage- 
ment is the maximum results for the minimum labor. Not 
one useless chore is performed or an ounce of power 
wasted or misdirected. That is what has made a margin 
of income over expenses. In the first place, the buildings 
are as near as possible to one another and allow yard 
room for the stock. This saves steps and steps count in 
this business. Another unique feature is found in the 
way the cook room, killing house and fattening shed have 
been arranged, all connecting, so that by traveling 200 
feet and back a man can feed the 1,600, 2,000 or whatever 
number of ducks happen to be in that shed. To feed that 
number of chickens the man would have to travel from 
half a mile to a mile and a half if they were properly ar- 
ranged to do well. The third feature was running water. 
In the brooder house the water was run into a cistern 
made of an oil barrel where a man can dip his buckets 
to the brim and is not obliged to wait for them to fill 
from the faucet. This is a simple device, but one of the 
best labor savers that I noticed. 

The close proximity to the Boston market has proved 
very advantageous. The catalogue states that they ship 
to Boston at one cent per duck. The plant has telephone 
connections and this enables this company to be in close 
touch with the market. While this is a market business, 
breeding stock is sold if engaged ahead. None are held 



88 



TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 



unless engaged. It is not good business to keep any stock 
for which you have no use beyond the time when it can 
be sold and they do not do it here. 

The results that are obtained here may be obtained any- 
where that a market for dressed ducks can be found, or 
reached without shipping to a great distance. Home or near- 
by markets are best and most profitable. To raise the ducks 
is not difficult; to sell them at good prices is the main point. 




Aylesbury Ducks. 



EXTENSIVE DUCK RAISING. 



Duck Growing as a Business — One Hundred Acres Devoted to 

the Production of Thousands of Market Ducks — 

Descriptions of the Incubator House, the 

Brooder Houses and their Equipment 

— Feeding the Ducklings — 

Killing and Marketing. 



By Frank G. Thayer. 

To the observer the sight of thousands of Pekin ducks 
is one not to be forgotten. At the same time there is no 
poultry establishment where visitors are less desired than 
on a large duck farm. The Pekin duck is probably the 
most timid of all domesticated ducks, and strangers as a 
rule are prohibited from visiting on this account, as all 
stampeding, scaring or otherwise disturbing the duck 
causes loss in flesh, vitality and profit. 

The duck business of today is probably one of the most 
firmly established profit paying branches of poultry hus- 
bandry. But there is no branch of poultry farming where 
failure is so certain when proper methods are not followed. 
It requires a large outlay of money and an extensive and 
varied experience. It takes time to develop a market and 
to know when and where to ship the product to advantage. 
The person who has the chance to visit a large duck plant 
should consider himself fortunate in the chance to see how 
ducks are raised on a large scale, and on a profit-paying 
basis. 

The East Controls the Business. 

Long Island has the reputation for ducks and here and 
there over the eastern states are to be found a few duck 
tarms of considerable size. In other parts of the country 
very few large duck plants are in evidence. Hundreds of 



90 TUKKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

thousands of ducks could be reared in this country in ex- 
cess of those already produced and still not over-supply the 
market. There are numerous places where they could be 
raised and disposed of at a profit. 

While one of the most profitable branches of the poul- 
try business, there is plenty of good hard work connected 
with it, as I know by practical experience. It means early 
to rise and late to bed if you expect to realize a fair profit. 
The ducks will be up and ready for their morning feed as 
soon as it is light, and it is not good policy to keep them 
waiting long, as it will cause them to fret off good flesh, or 
affect the egg production. From the beginning of the 
hatching season until the last stock hatched for the season 
is ten weeks old, the caretaker must work early and late. 

When Pekin ducks were first introduced, numerous 
persons went into the business with little or no experience, 
expecting to get rich in a hurry. Prices then were high 
and, naturally, the price declined, because it takes time to 
create a demand for a new market product and in conse- 
quence "green ducks'' could scarcely find purchasers at 
any price. 

Good Prices are Obtained. 

In the spring of the year, in the Xew York and Boston 
markets, "green ducks" now bring from twenty to thirty- 
five cents per pound at wholesale. The season of greatest 
demand and production is in June, July and August, when 
they will average fifteen to twenty cents per pound at 
wholesale. 

The lowest price which these ducks have brought in 
five years in New York and Boston markets is ten cents 
per pound, while the highest on record is thirty-five cents. 
Remember, these are all wholesale prices paid by commis- 
sion men. The retailer o-ets from ten to fifteen cents more 
per pound than the grower. Recently the Long Island 
Duck Raisers' Association met in New York City to de- 
cide on the spring selling campaign. There is consider- 



EXTENSIVE DUCK RAISING 91 

able talk of the growers installing their own stores and cut- 
ting the middlemen off. 

The census of 1900 shows that the total number of 
ducks (all kinds) raised annually in the United States was 
4,807,358, and during the next six years this was greatly 
increased, especially in the eastern states, where more 
ducks are being raised each year for the Xew York and 
Boston dealers whose demands they cannot satisfy. 

A Mammoth Duck Farm. 

It was in the spring of 1905 that I was so fortunate as 
to obtain a position on one of the largest duck farms in 
America : Weber Bros., of Massachusetts. The Messrs. 
Weber Bros, are considered among the most successful of 
all duck growers. They have been in the business nearly 
twenty years, and are certainly making money, as shown 
by the new dwelling house built by David Weber, costing 
$10,000. Therefore the knowledge of their methods is 
worth having. They are located twenty-three miles south- 
east of Boston,. Massachusetts, on good state roads running 
between Providence and Boston. They are within easy ac- 
cess to their shipping place, Pondville. The farm consists 
of 100 acres, situated in a valley where it is extremely cold 
in the winter, and very warm in the summer. In July for 
five days the thermometer stood at 103 in the shade with 
no breeze blowing. If it were not for good management 
during these days it would have been very disastrous to the 
ducks. 

The water that is used on the place is pumped by 
means of a gasoline engine when the windmill is not in 
operation. This water is pumped through a series of pipes 
to the various yards and houses, where it is distributed to 
the ducks by manual labor ; no automatic watering devices 
being used. The ducks have water for drinking only, being 
reared without any water for swimming for either green 
or breeding ducks. The three feed houses are centrally lo- 



92 TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

cated, thus economizing labor and time. They are large 
enough so 'they will hold immense quantities of feed at one 
time. In the busy season 4,000 pounds of feed are fed daily. 
The feed is all bought in carload lots at wholesale prices. 
The good roads make it easy to haul it to the farm. The 
equipment consists of one nursery, three feed houses, one 
feed store house, two double brooder houses, heated by hot 
water; three cold brooder houses; two large fattening 
sheds ; one breeding house ; one incubator house and one 
ice house. All of these buildings are of large size, requir- 
ing a large capital to build. 

Much Depends on the Breeders. 

The management makes it a practice to carry 400 head 
of breeding stock each season. When selecting breeding 
stock only well-matured, sound, vigorous stock is desired. 
With Pekins, as with fowls, the success in hatching and 
raising ducklings depends largely on the selection and care 
of breeding stock. These ducks are selected just before the 
stock is put into the fattening sheds for market. They are 
driven into a corner and a board is put up to keep them in 
so they can be sorted. They are always caught by the neck 
and never by the legs or wings. They must be broad back- 
ed, good lunged, strong on their feet, and without lopped 
wings. These breeders are given a green run in a large 
orchard where they receive the best of care, and are not 
forced in any way. They are gradually broken into eat- 
ing whole corn. Weber Bros, get their breeding stock tcr 
laying by December 15th. They are fed a mash morning 
and night, and at noon one quart of whole corn to twenty- 
five ducks. The mash consists of the following : fifteen per 
cent (by weight) meat scraps, twenty-five per cent (by 
weight) bran, one bushel cut clover or alfalfa, three pails 
of boiled carrots, one-half pint of salt to a thirty-pail mix- 
ture, enough flour to make it sticky, and the balance of 
corn meal to make a thirty-pail mixture. 



EXTENSIVE DUCK RAISING 



93 



The breeding ducks are all shut in at night, both in 
warm and cold weather, so that their eggs will be laid in- 
side of the house. They are let out of doors at eight 
o'clock in the morning in good weather. The house is 
heated in cold w r eather to take out the chill and to keep the 
eggs from freezing. Lanterns are hung in all of the pens 




Double Brooding House on Weber Bros. Duck Farm. 



to prevent the ducks from stampeding and to keep them 
quiet at night. Five drakes are allowed to a pen of twenty 
ducks. 

Incubators Do the Hatching. 

Incubators are used exclusively for hatching. They 
are operated in a separate building, built underground with 
overhead and end ventilation by means of muslin curtains. 
All windows w r ere whitewashed so as to shut out the direct 
rays of the sun and to assist to keep the air within at as 
even a temperature as possible. To further help, and also 
to afford more entilation, shutters are used on the win- 
dows. The ground floor is cement, and it is the practice 



94 TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

to keep the floor wet down constantly as it keeps the air 
moist and does away with some adding of moisture in the 
machines. 

Hatching is commenced in January and is continued 
until the latter part of July when the fertility runs low. 
The average of fertile eggs hatched runs very high. The 
mortality is very low. The eggs are put in the machine as 
soon as possible after being laid. Duck eggs spoil quickly 
and should not be kept over a week. Great care must be 
used in handling duck eggs intended for incubation. The 
sack containing the yolk is easily ruptured, causing the 
growing germ to die between the second and seventh days. 
The 'eggs are turned twice daily, and tested on the sixth 
day. They are never cooled, as it dries the tgg too much. 
Those tested out are disposed of. The clear or infertile 
ones are shipped to Boston where they sell for eighteen 
cents per dozen. These clear eggs make stiff custards and 
bakers in large cities pay a good price for them. 

From the incubator house the ducklings are removed 
to the nursery. This building is heated by hot water and is 
273 feet long and twelve feet wide. It is divided into 
seventy-three pens. Each pen accommodates fifty duck- 
lings. There is a narrow walk next to the hover. The 
floors are covered with new sawdust daily. The young 
ducklings are kept near the hover at first and then they are 
gradually allowed a larger run. During the first week they 
are not allowed outdoors at all. After that they are allowed 
a small run outside. As soon as there is any indication of 
a storm, they are all driven in the house and shut up, to 
avoid being wet and chilled. They are kept in the nursery 
until they are two weeks old when they are removed to the 
double brooder houses, also heated by hot water. Here 
they are given larger pens, and runs. Seventy-five are put 
into each pen. This house is built with an aisle, on both 
sides of which are pens. Those on one side have hovers, 



EXTENSIVE DUCK RAISING 



95 



while those on the other side are for older ducks and have 
no hovers. The older they grow the more room is given 
them. 

Feeding the Ducklings. 

The newly hatched ducks are fed the first day a mix- 
ture, by measure, of four parts crackers, one part hard 
boiled eggs, and five parts of rolled oats. Extremely fine 
grit is also mixed with it. This is moistened and fed at 
5 .-30 a. m., 9:00 a. m., 11 :oo a. m., 1 :oo p. m., 5 :oo p. m. 




Single Brooding House on Weber Bros. Duck Farm. 

As ducks have no crop to store away food like chickens, 
they cannot eat much at any one time, but must eat often. 
Thev are alwavs watered before being fed so thev will not 
choke when eating. Xo food is left on the boards because 
it will sour and cause sickness among the ducklings. They 
are fed on small boards with cleats nailed on the sides just 
high enough to keep the food from getting into the dirt. 
A man goes along with # pail, walking on top of hovers, 
and feeding all in the pens in a short time. He then comes 
back, and where they are still hungry he gives them some 
more. The second day they are given a mixture, by meas- 



90 TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

tire, of rolled oats four parts, bread crumbs two parts, 
scalded corn meal two parts, with fine grit mixed in. It is 
mixed with w T ater to a crumbly state. This is fed for three 
days five times a day. They are never allowed to be with- 
out water to drink. The third feed is equal parts of second 
feed and rolled oats. This is fed for two days five times a 
day. The fourth feed consists of rolled oats one pail and 
regular feed (described later) four pails, with plenty of 
finely cut green food, such as rape, young corn, clover and 
rye. This is fed until they are two weeks old, five times a 
day. This is called the "oat meal feed." The green food 
is all raised on the farm and cut when needed, so it will be 
fresh and green when fed. It is all cut from a hand en- 
silage cutter. 

Care of the Growing Ducks. 
In the double brooder house they are fed on what is 
called the regular feed, consisting of 150 pounds of corn 
meal, three bushels of bran, ninety-five pounds of low grade 
flour, and thirty-three pounds of meat scraps, with occa- 
sionally linseed oil meal, pin head oat meal and screenings 
from breakfast foods added. To all of this is added finely 
cut green food. Gradually, as the ducks increase in size 
from two to five weeks, the number of meals is reduced. At 
five weeks old they are moved into the cold brooder houses. 
These houses, as the name implies, have no heat. Here 
the ducks are fed more sparingly morning and noon. At 
night they are given as much as they will eat and a little is 
left on the boards which they will clean up before it is dark. 
No matter what the age of the duck, no food is ever left 
on the boards at any time except at night. Shelters should 
be built for them in the yards to shield them from the heat 
of the sun so they can keep cool when the houses are too 
warm for comfort. They cannot stand the hot rays of the 
sun which will cause them to have paralysis. From four 
weeks old until marketed they are watered in large troughs. 
Thev are now fed three times a dav until thev are marketed. 



EXTENSIVE DUCK RAISING 



97 



They are kept in these cold brooder houses until they 
are eight weeks old, when they are moved to the fattening 
sheds. These sheds have open sides built close to the 
ground, with yards on both sides. The ducks are fattened 
here and then driven to the killing sheds when wanted for 
market. They are about ten weeks old when marketed. 
Here they are especially fattened from one to two weeks 



. 


__ 




f : ; ; '■■.": S> 




.--■ '■:';•■ ■ 



Feeding- Thousands of Growing Ducks on Weber Bros. Duck Farm. 



before killing. They are fed the regular feed morning and 
noon and at night a fatter's food, consisting of ioo pounds 
corn meal, sixty-six pounds low grade flour' and sixty 
pounds of meat scraps with plenty of green food mixed in. 
In very warm weather the corn meal feed is dispensed with 
on account of its heating power, as it is likely to throw them 
off their feed. The night before being killed they are driv- 
en up to the sorting pens where they are all fed and watered 
for the night. The next morning they are given water 



9 s 



TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 



only. In driving the ducks they are moved slowly and 
quietly, as they are weak on their legs and cannot stand un- 
due excitement. The morning they are to be killed they 
are sorted ; the ducks with full breasts, well filled out, are 




Fattening Sheds in Use on Weber Bros. Duck Farm. 

taken up to the killing house and put into pens connected 
with it. The poor ones are taken back to the fattening 
sheds. 

The Ducks Are Dry Picked. 
The ducks are all dry picked. This method gives the 
dressed duck a fine appearance ; the skin is not torn or 
bruised in any way, it keeps longer and sells for a higher 
price. The feathers can be saved and sold as uncured duck 
feathers. They are collected each evening and spread upon 
a floor in the second story of one of the large feed houses 
where they are dried and then are ready for shipment 
whenever desired. They are packed in large white bags 
and shipped to the various markets where the highest prices 



EXTENSIVE DUCK RAISING 99 

are obtained, Chicago being the main shipping -market. 
The purchaser pays the freight or express charges. In 
1905 they were bringing forty-eight cents per pound at 
wholesale. The pickers receive seven cents per duck and 
as it takes eight ducks to make one pound of feathers, you 
see the picking of one duck costs only one cent after you 
deduct your price of feathers from price paid the pickers. 
The pickers will average fifty ducks per day, and some of 
the pickers have picked as many as seventy-eight in one 
day of ten hours. 

The picker takes the duck by the neck and stuns it by 
hitting it just back of the head. He then runs a knife down 
the throat and severs the main arteries. On the way to the 
picking bench he pulls out the tail feathers and throws 
them on the floor. He then places the head of the duck 
between his leg and the picking box and commences to 
pick the feathers from the breast first, because it is the 
tenderest part of the duck. He then picks the feathers from 
the back and to the first joint on the wing. When the 
feathers are all off the duck is shaved with a sharp, con- 
cave knife to remove all pin feathers and down that could 
not be removed otherwise. The duck is then cooled in ice 
water to remove bodily heat. They are never drawn for 
market. When the ducks are thoroughly cooled they are 
taken from the ice water and packed for market. In the 
early part of the -season they are shipped to the New York 
markets and later to the Boston markets. They are pack- 
ed in barrels for New York and in boxes for Boston. The 
method of packing is as follows : First a layer of ice and 
then a layer of ducks, then another layer of ice; and so on 
until the box or barrel is filled. In June, 1905, ducks were 
selling for nineteen cents per pound at wholesale. 

The cost of rearing a duck to five pounds is considered 
thirty-six cents, including the dressing of the duck. This 
will vary on account of the different methods employed 
and prices of the feeds used. The cost of the food is 



IOO 



TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 



twenty cents, cost of labor and brooding ten cents, cost of 
picking six cents. This, when the duck is marketed at 
from fifteen to twenty-five cents per pound, leaves the 
grower a good profit. 

The main part of the employees are through with their 
work by November first. The pickers have left and all of 
the surplus stock has been disposed of. 

All houses, as soon as vacated by the stock, are thor- 
oughly cleaned and six inches of sand taken out and new 
sand put in, all ready for the next season's work. The 
fences are all taken down and the yards plowed up and 
sown to rye. 




Ready for the Next Meal. 



DUCKS ON A SMALL SCALE. 



The farmer or village poultry keeper who does not wish 
to raise ducks on a large scale but who desires to produce a 
small flock each year for his own table, does not need the 
expensive equipment usually found on the farms of exten- 
sive duck raisers. If he does not want to trouble with in- 
cubators he can hatch the duck eggs under hens, or under 
the ducks themselves, and rear them without the aid of 
brooders. 

When reared by hens, which are usually more success- 
ful mothers, all things considered, than the ducks, the proc- 
ess is not different from that of rearing chicks except that 
the food for the ducklings is of mash while the up-to-date 
methods of feeding chicks call for an entire dry grain ra- 
tion. 

The hen must sit four weeks before the ducklings will 
appear instead of three, the time required to hatch hen's 
leggs. When the ducklings come out the hen and brood may 
be placed in a coop and occasionally the hen may be let out 
for an hour after the ducklings are a week old. 

The little ducks do not need water to swim in any more 
than do little chicks, but they must have plenty to drink and 
always have it when they are eating. It is necessary for 
them to take first a mouthful of food and then a drink of 
water in order to be able to swallow the mash. As they 
grow older, say after ten days old, they should always have 
their water in a dish deep enough so they can plunge their 
heads into it up to or over their eyes. This is to keep their 
nostrils and eyes clean and is very necessary. If a very deep 
vessel is used, however, the top should be covered w T ith slats 
through which the ducklings can reach the water but near 
enough together so that the youngsters can not fall through 
and be held head down in the vessel until thev drown. 



BREEDS OF GEESE. 



The Principal Characteristics Which Indicate Their Usefulness 

for Practical and Ornamental Purposes— 

A Comparison of Size. 



By H. A. Nourse. 

The American Standard of Perfection recognizes six 
distinct breeds of geese, namely : Toulouse, Embden, Afri- 
can, Chinese, Canadian or Wild, and Egyptian. Only one 
of these breeds, the Chinese, has more than one variety and 
it has two, the Brown and White. 

The largest of these breeds are the Toulouse, African 
and Embden, all having the same weight requirements in 
the Standard, though the first two are larger as a general 
rule than the Embdens. Specimens of Toulouse and Afri- 
can varieties, which weigh a good many pounds over Stand- 
ard weight, are very common and now and then an Emb- 
den exceeds the weight required by the Standard, but as 
a rule that breed does not attain the size of the other two. 

The general color of the Toulouse and African breeds 
is gray, but that of the Embden is pure white. In prac- 
tical qualities there is probably very little difference in the 
three breeds, though some breeders claim that the Africans 
are rather better layers and that they mature at an earlier 
age. Of the three the Toulouse is undoubtedly the most 
popular in America, with the Embden second. 

In the second class, as regards size, are the White 
and Brown Chinese and the Canadian geese, all of which 
have the same Standard weights. These are rather more 
ornamental than the larger breeds and have longer necks, 
rather more gracefully formed and carried. The Chinese 
varieties are said to be excellent layers for geese and the 



104 



TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 



White variety especially is quite extensively bred and high- 
ly recommended as a practical, general-purpose goose. 

The Canadian or wild breed is comparatively domesti- 
cated, but is more inclined to roam than the other breeds 
we have mentioned. It will fly high enough to get out 
of almost any enclosure unless the wings are clipped or 
unless the last joint of the wing is removed when they 
are very young. They are not bred to any considerable 
extent, except for ornamental purposes, and are found most 
often in the yards of fanciers and in public parks and gar- 
dens. 

The Egyptian geese are the bantams of the goose tribe 
and weigh scarcely more than a full-grown Plymouth Rock 
fowl of Standard size. They are bred principally on ac- 
count of their odd appearance and small size, which is to 
say, they are almost purely a fancier's breed. They are 
born fighters and quarrelsome at a 1 most all times. 




A Profitable Farm Flock. 



TOULOUSE GEESE. 



A Breed That Combines Large Size, Rapid Growth and 

Heavy Egg Production — The Market 

and Fancy Demands. 



By Joseph C. Dethloff. 

Several years ago I decided that the raising of geese 
would furnish me a good income in connection with my 
other poultry. The first thing for me was to decide which 
variety would be the most profitable for me to breed. I 
tried to learn what the common market demanded, knowing 
that this demand would go hand in hand with the fancy 
trade. I easily learned that the market wanted the heaviest 
and fattest geese, and I decided that the Toulouse " r ere 
nearer this type than any other variety. 

Toulouse Are Good Layers. 

The Toulouse geese are very good layers, averaging 
forty eggs in a season, and if properly mated and in good 
condition the eggs will prove to be very fertile. I find I 
get the best results from having them mated in pairs. Al- 
though two or three geese may be mated to one gander, 
usually such matings are unsuccessful. The Toulouse 
geese are called by many the dry land geese ; if they are 
supplied with sufficient water to drink they will do well 
without a swimming pool, although a swimming pool will 
do them no harm. 

. Rapid Growers. 

The goslings grow rapidly from shell to maturity. 
They are very vigorous and with good care seldom die, 
barring accidents, as the lice and the common ailments of 
other poultry do not affect them. My goslings reach from 
Standard weights up ; from twenty to twenty-two pounds 



io6 



TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 



for females and twenty-three to twenty-five pounds for 
males in December. Average birds weigh sixteen pounds 
for females and nineteen pounds for males. The highest 
weight birds are exceptionally fine. 

The market for fancy geese is good. It is true one 
does not receive as high a price for single specimens as for 
chickens, but will receive a good average price for all, as 

most geese are good 
specimens in a well- 
bred flock. Goose 
raising is fast becom- 
ing a leading indus- 
try. The goose is 
now the Christmas 
fowd, the same as the 
turkey is the Thanks- 
giving bird, and there 
is a bright future for 
all breeders of geese 
who will pay careful 
attention to the re- 
quirements of the 
breeds they keep and 
the markets they sup- 
ply. In the common 
western markets 
geese bring from nine to twelve cents a pound, while good 
breeders range from two to fifteen dollars apiece according 
to quality. 

The Farmers' Geese. 

The Toulouse geese are more compact in shape than 
other varieties and are preferred by many for this reason. 
They have broad backs of moderate length, their breasts 
are broad and deep, and they are not as noisy and pugna- 
cious as some other breeds. Being large birds and not 




A Winning- Toulouse Gander. 



TOULOUSE GEESE • 107 

laying as many eggs as ducks, they cannot be satisfac- 
torily handled by artificial methods. Anyone cannot con- 
duct the goose business on as large a scale as the duck busi- 
ness. But every farmer should have at least a couple of 
pairs of breeders to raise a nice flock of young geese each 
year. 

The goose occupies the same place among poultry that 
the sheep do among live stock and if rightly cared for are 
just as profitable in proportion. On farms where they 
have unlimited range they will gather the largest portion 
of their food, consisting of grasses and insects, and there- 
fore require very little grain except in the winter months, 
when they need a small quantity each day to keep them 
in good condition. 

Simple Shelters Suffice. 

Geese do not need elaborate houses or shelters. Breed- 
ing geese prefer to stay in the open both summer and win- 
ter except in the coldest and stormiest weather, when any 
rough shelter will do. 

The young birds keep changing in color until they are 
in full feather, then they remain the same, both male and 
female. The male is the coarser and larger bird, with 
more of a masculine look about the head. But one not 
familiar with them cannot distinguish between the sexes 
until they about reach maturity, when their voices become 
different, that of the female being hoarse and the male 
squeaky. 














5^'. 








,, ! 



Young African Gander Referred to by Mr. Sewell. 



AFRICAN GEESE. 



The Writer Claims That They Are Especially Valuable on 
Account of Their Rapid Growth, Early Maturity and 
Excellent Laying — The English African Com- 
pared with the American Type — 
Distinctive Features. 

By F. L. Sewell. 

It was Mr. Samuel Cushman's experiments as man- 
ager of the poultry department of the Rhode Island State 
Agricultural College at Kingston, some years ago, that con- 
vinced him of the superior value of the African geese, 
and afterwards led him to establish a farm where the ma- 
jority of the geese kept were Africans, numbering several 
hundred. A number of other Eastern farmers have found 
it very profitable to keep the Africans pure and breed them 
extensively. One of them gives as his reasons for think- 
ing the pure-bred African "the most perfect goose" : "They 
lay more eggs, mature earlier and make more pounds of 
flesh in the same time, while they are very vigorous and 
hardy, and you will almost always raise all you hatch." 

Their proud carriage, with their immense size and 
peculiar markings, have caused much comment and their 
early laying is remarkable. A well-known breeder writes : 
"My African average has always been the largest. Thirty 
years ago I rarely had a bird that would lay over thirty 
eggs; now they often lay sixty and occasionally more. 
When I was a boy my father used to say : Tf you raise 
ten goslings from a goose you are all right.' Now we feel 
that we ought to raise from twenty-five to thirty." 

Geese eggs have never been a matter of merchandise, 
as they are too valuable in the rearing season to raise 



no TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

goslings from. However, these Africans sometimes lay in 
the autumn, and the value of eggs laid at this time for 
table purposes helps considerably towards paying for their 
keep. Geese of such grand size, with such vigor and hardi- 
hood, laying so early in the season and producing such 
large goslings at so early an age, and gaining much of 
their living directly by grazing like cattle and sheep, are 
worthy of more attention from farmers who study to make 
the most from their land. 

The African in England. 

English writers do not make separate classes for Afri- 
can and Chinese geese as is done here in America ; in fact, 
they class both under the head of Chinese, but credit this 
class with coming from China, India and even Africa. 

The several importations of "Hong Kong," "Knotted 
Geese/' "Guinea Geese," etc., brought among the earliest 
importations the large breed now known to the American 
fancier as the "African Geese." These have shown quite 
a distinct type from those later acquisitions called the 
Chinese geese, which are considerably smaller and lay much 
smaller eggs. 

Lewis Wright, a noted English authority, says of the 
Chinese : "In size it is midway between the common goose 
and the swan, whence it might probably be bred with care 
to very great weight, and in' one point it has a most de- 
cided advantage over all other breeds of geese, viz., in 
prolificacy ; while other geese lay as a rule once a year, 
though some will lay twice, the Chinese goose usually lays 
about thirty eggs before desiring to sit and will raise 
three or even four litters in one season," and goes on to 
say, "the eggs are not so large as those of the common 
goose, not exceeding about two-thirds of their size." This 
would lead us to believe that the Chinese geese of England 
are of the same breed as those of the later importations 
which came to America, as these lay small eggs as com- 



AFRICAN GEESE in 

pared with those of other geese, (though many of them) ; 
while the African geese of the type first brought to Ameri- 
ca, lay the largest eggs of all breeds of geese. 

It is very probable that both types, the African and 
the Chinese, must have sprung from the same source at a 
very early date, but that the African has been improved 
along some very different and distinct lines is very evident 
in its immense size, its eggs being the largest of all geese, 
and its goslings attaining such unusual size at so early an 
age. It has certainly been improved in very sensible and 
profitable ways. 

The English breeders do not claim to have the African 
geese, nor do they claim to possess stock of the type with 
such weight as the earliest importations of "Africans" still 
bred and kept up here in America. However, some of the 
Ispecimens w T hich they call Chinese show characteristics 
which are held by some breeders of Africans to be distinct- 
ly African and not to belong to the Chinese, as for instance, 
the well developed dewlap. 

The American Type. 

We can describe the African type by the sketch of a 
promising young gander, hatched the loth of April, five 
months old when sketched and in show condition. It is re- 
markable how closely and firmly put together and yet what 
immense bodies these Africans develop. This sketch pre- 
sents one of good, moderate, all-round proportions, broad, 
deep and heavy in body, with neck long enough to look 
graceful and showy, yet not of such extreme length as to 
appear ridiculous or uselessly long in that section, if dressed 
for market. We do not favor extremly long necks or legs 
on any type of fowls bred for market. The market favors 
the more compact kind. 

We once heard an old veteran breeder say: "Show 
me the head of a fowl and I can easily tell what's behind it." 
The broad, deep, massive head of the African goose is very 



112 



TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 



indicative of the body that it belongs to ; it is easy to fore- 
tell, the body that will be developed in a young African by 
the type of its skull and bill. The young goose whose head 
is portrayed in the sketch, a massive head for a young goose, 
at an early age showed this massive type of skull and bill. 
She not only made the heaviest young goose, but she gained 
her full growth at a remarkably early age, and was at a 

marketable stage two 
or three weeks ahead 
of the rest; naturally 
her value as a breeder 
was much enhanced by 
this early maturity, as 
this is one of the first 
qualities sought by 
-progressive goose rais- 
ers. 

The sire of this 
young goose just men- 
tioned and . the young 
gander sketched, pos- 
sessed an extraordinarily massive head. The accompanying 
sketch shows him as he was at eighteen months. 
The head, bill, knob and throat is very correct for 
the African. Particular value as a fancy point would 
be credited by fanciers of Africans to the square front 
of the knob ; a knob which grows loose and flabby and has 
not good foundation, but lops forward or sideways, is es- 
pecially disliked by breeders of this variety, for the show 
rooms. The shape or position of the knob on the head is a 
point which exacting fanciers are giving attention to just 
as chicken fanciers look to the combs of their fowls, real- 
izing that it can be an ornament or a great blemish to an 
otherwise showy bird. The dewlap of the African is only 
slightly developed the first year. However, it should make 
its appearance when the bird is a yearling, and grow grad- 




Head of Toulouse Goose. 



AFRICAN GEESE 



113 



ually until fully developed, which is about its third autumn. 
Then it should be a well-hung dewlap, from an inch to two 
below the throat, to as low as the depth of the head, as it is 
seen in some aged specimens. 

A very pretty mark 
on the nicely bred 
African is the white 
line that divides the 
dark forehead from 
the knob and the base 
of the bill. We trust 
nevertheless that 
fanciers of the Afri- 
cans will never be so 
carried away by their 
many beautiful char- 
acteristics as to lose 

Sight Of those qual- Head of Toulouse Gander. 

ities which have been 

so clearly brought out by practical comparisons, showing the 

great value of the pure bred African geese. 




One of the factors in goose culture which simplify it 
considerably, is the long term of years through which the 
breeding geese are useful. This makes it possible for the 
farmer to secure the number he needs, to raise the required 
flock from each year, and keep that parent stock without 
change for several years. This does away with all the trou- 
ble of making new matings every year and of producing and 
worrying about the new blood which poultrymen frequently 
feel that they must add to their flocks. 



Standard-Bred Embden Geese. 



EMBDEN GEESE. 



Facts Concerning Their Introduction in America — Their Size, 
Longevity and Usefulness. 



By F. L. Sewell. . 

This breed was first introduced into this country in 
1 82 1, by Col. James Jacques, of Boston, who had them for 
many years on his estate at Medford, Mass., under the 
name of Bremen Geese, as it was from the seaport city of 
that name, in Germany, that he obtained them. The name 
Embden is derived from a seaport city in Prussia, in the 
province of Hanover, East Friesland, and it is interesting 
to note that the letter of instruction to the captain of the 
ship relative to the care of this importation of six geese 
(two ganders and four geese) is dated "Embden, 17th 
August, 1821." Under the date of December 12th, 1850, 
Samuel Jacques, Jr., writes, "The original stock has never 
been out of my father's possession, nor has he ever crossed 
it with any other kind. In 1826 one of the imported females 
was marked by cutting a hole through the web of the left 
foot with a gun-wad punch, and in 1850 she was in as fine 
health and vigor as any of her progeny. She has never 
failed to lay from 12 to 16 eggs every year for the last 2J 
years, and has always been an excellent breeder and nurse. 
In 1849 one °f ner brood, at exactly nine months old, weighed 
22 pounds. The progeny of this importation was sold 
in almost every state in the Union, as also Canada and Nova 
Scotia." 

In 1826, James Sisson, of Warren, R. I., imported a 
trio from Bremen, and others were imported about the 
same time by John Giles, of Providence, R. I. In 1852 a 
pair imported from Bremen by Burnham weighed on ship- 



n6 



TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 



board, alive, 55% pounds, and was sold with four others to 
a gentleman in New Orleans, La., for $50 per pair. This 
is interesting as showing the age to which many geese at- 
tain and continue productive, and to note the high figures 
obtained for the Embdens in their earlier days in this coun- 
try. 

Some aged geese in England are credited with having 
been "in full breeding to at least forty years old." This 

longevity of the goose 
makes it unnecessary 
to add new blood to 
the stock nearly every 
year, after the suffi- 
cient number are ob- 
tained, as is the case 
with chickens and 
ducks. 

The white feathers 
from the breast and 
under parts of the 
Embdens bring the 
'highest price ; and 
their light colored 
flesh and bills seem 
with the majority to 
prove the most attrac- 
with the Jews, who 
their feast days. It 




A First Prize Embden Gander. 



tive in the markets, especially so 
purchase a great many geese for 
is said that it is almost impossible to sell a Jew a dark billed 
goose if he can find one with a light colored bill in the 
market. The pickers also say that it takes less time to get 
a white goose into a marketable appearance than one of 
dark plumage. These conditions and popular prejudices 
help to make the Embden geese very profitable for the farm- 
er to keep and rear for the best paying markets. 



WHITE CHINESE GEESE. 



Two Prominent Breeders of Geese Tell Why They Believe 
This Breed is the Best. 



By Glen Oak Farm. 

Being comparatively a new breed in this country, a few 
words about White China geese would not be objectionable. 
We have had experience with Toulouse, Enibden and Afri- 
can geese, -so can judge by comparison. This article is not 
written to condemn other breeds, for they are all profitable, 
but we prefer the White Chinas for the following reasons. 

As they are not so common as other breeds, they draw 
the attention of strangers at once on account of their beauty. 
They very much resemble swans, especially when swimming 
with their breasts low in the water and their long, graceful 
necks towering above them. Their pure white plumage, of 
fineness next to swans' down, makes their feathers of high 
market value. Being medium sized geese, they bring high 
prices when sold in the market. 

Where we think they are vastly superior is in their 
great laying qualities. Our geese average nearly fifty eggs 
during the spring season. What surprised us was" our 
young geese, hardly six months old, starting laying Novem- 
ber first and we have been getting a number of eggs every 
day. We do not say this is the rule with all White Chinas, 
but we know 7 that twenty-five per cent of our young geese 
are laying now — November tenth. They have had plenty 
of feed and good care, which accounts for it. The solution 
of the great problem in goose culture, to have a profitable 
flock, is to be able to have a large flock of young goslings 
from a few breeders, so as to keep the first cost of goslings 
as low as possible. 

The wintering of old breeders is quite an item as the 
winter feed is much higher in price than their summer feed. 



n8 TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

In disposition White Chinas are kind and docile and not 
so vicious to other poultry. Being a coming* breed with 
good demand, and not plentiful at present, they bring high 
prices for breeding purposes. Any one who likes to raise 
geese and has a good, short pasture for summer feed can 
make no mistake in starting in this beautiful and profitable 
breed. 

By E. E. Smith. 

The White Chinese geese are the oldest of all breeds 
of geese — as old as the Chinese Empire. These beautiful 
geese are a most deserving variety. They combine beauty 
and utility. They are called the "White Swan Geese," hav- 
ing a very long, slender neck, orange bill and large orange 
knob on their heads. As now bred they weigh two to six 
pounds over standard weight. They will weigh, when fat 
for market, from twelve to eighteen pounds. The feathers 
are very abundant, fine and soft like swan's down, with 
flexible quills. White feathers sell for thirty per cent more 
than colored ones, which is quite an item in their favor. 
They are early maturing and will lay the first fall, are as 
good breeders when one year as other breeds at 
two, and will prove sure and profitable breeders up to 
twenty-five years old. The Chinese have put hundreds 
of years of work to breed them to lay until they 
have developed the laying power so strong that we 
get reports of ioo to 120 eggs. But one can be sure of 
fifty and better, under farm conditions. Their eggs are very 
fertile and will hatch goslings that live. From the fact that 
one gets more eggs that hatch well, it is easy to see how 
one can grow large numbers from a few breeders. 

We have grown 150 this season by artificial means; 
they hatch as well in an incubator as ducks do and are as 
easy to handle in brooders. It is to one's advantage to buy 
early, for located breeders prove the most profitable the first 
season. 



BUILDINGS FOR GEESE. 



About all that geese require in the way of buildings is pro- 
tection from the wind and storms. Mere cold does not even 
inconvenience them, provided they have a well-ventilated, 
dry place on which to sit down and rest. A shed-like struc- 
ture, six feet high in front and three feet high in the rear, 
may be built of any length and width that is sufficient to 
accommodate the geese, allowing each member of the flock 
at least ten square feet of space. It is not advisable, how- 
ever, to have it more than twelve feet wide as a wider shed 
will not dry out quickly when warmed by the sun's rays. 

Such a shed may be built of very cheap lumber and 
covered with tar paper, or may be made more lasting by 
covering it with some brand of prepared roofing. The front 
of this shed may be closed with curtains of heavy cotton 
cloth. These curtains may be tacked on frames which can 
be made to swing open like doors on hinges, or swing up 
inside the shed when they mav be hooked to the underside 
of the roof. The writer is inclined to favor making them 
to swing open like doors, when they may be held open by 
hecks attached to posts driven in the ground. 

The main objection to those which swing up inside the 
shed is that dust accumulates on them and makes them less 
able to admit light and air. These doors may be swung open 
in fair weather and need be closed only at night, in severe 
weather and during storms which would otherwise beat in 
and make the interior damp and uncomfortable. 




The Pride of the Flock. 



SUCCESS WITH GEESE, 



Goose Culture Requires Neither Large Capital Nor Expensive 
Equipment — The Leading Breeds — Selecting, Mat- 
ing and Feeding the Breeders — Hatching, 
Brooding and Care of the 
Young. 



By Geo. H. Pollard. 

Under favorable conditions no poultry is more prof- 
itable than geese. Yet they are sadly neglected and the 
great bulk of those sohl and consumed in the big cities and 
towns are produced in the West, and most of them are so 
produced that they are hardly calculated to inspire a decent 
respect for the good qualities of the goose family as a 
source of desirable food supply. The necessary require- 
ments for successful goose culture are few and simple and 
are readily provided on most farms, and on a good many vil- 
lage places. The most essential is a good grass range suffi- 
cient in extent to furnish plenty of green grass for the geese 
and goslings. The breeding geese will do best where there 
is more or less low, wet land and where pools or streams 
are accessible. 

Thousands of acres of swale, marsh or meadow land, 
now unused and returning no profit, could be made one 
of the best paying parts of the farm if stocked, with breeding 
geese, and the drier parts used in pasturing and feeding 
the young. Geese graze about as freely as cattle and will 
eat a surprising quantity of grass and soft roots. Where 
the range is sufficient they keep the grass "cut", but do not 
destroy the roots. On too limited range they eat both root 
and blade and leave the ground bare. This fact has un- 
doubtedly given rise to the somewhat common notion that 



122 TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 

geese are injurious to grass and vegetation, than which 
nothing* could be further from the truth. No other birds 
or animals more quickly renew or fertilize worn-out land 
than properly fed geese or ducks. 

In a limited way, geese may be raised in a city yard, and 
cut green food may be fed while a bucket of water imitates 
the swimming pool ; but they are naturally noisy at times 
and their habits are so untidy that to persons at all fastidious 
in taste they will soon become a nuisance to both eye and 
ear. A few T goslings may be raised on a limited area and 
no other young poultry is so interesting or so quaint in 
style and motion. 

Mature geese are extremely hardy and will endure 
any degree of cold without apparent harm, yet it pays to 
provide some rough shelter from wind and storm. An open 
shed or the crudest of shacks will answer. Unless the geese 
are shut in, the chances are they will seldom use it ; but 
it is available and gives them a home point where feeding 
may occasionally be done and if suitable litter is supplied 
they will most likely choose nesting places within the shelter. 
Xest boxes are unnecessary. The goose will hollow out 
a nest, line it with down and lay her eggs therein. The eggs 
will be carefully covered with litter and generally well out 
of sight. 

Breeding geese should be selected for the object in 
view. , While there are some who handle them only for 
show purposes, the fancier is less widely interested in geese 
than most other poultry and the bulk of those marketed are 
produced only for market and little attention is paid to good 
breeding or special color or marking. This neglect is a 
mistake even from a market point of view and costs the pro- 
ducer a percentage of his possible profits which is well 
worth considering. 

The three breeds, which cover practically all the de- 
sirable qualities of practical worth, are the African, Toul- 
ouse and Embden. To these, perhaps, may be added the 



SUCCESS WITH GEESE 123 

Canada or wild goose which is often used for crossing and 
the product of which in the good old days used to water the 
mouth of the epicure with joyful anticipation or pleasant 
retrospect. These cross-bred birds, from wild ganders and 
domesticated geese, were known as mongrels and are not 
so highly esteemed as some twenty years ago when they 
frequently sold in the big markets for from eight to fifteen 
dollars a pair and were never in sufficient supply. 

The African goose, in general terms, is a dark gray, 
with considerable black and has a black bill with a pronounc- 
ed knob or projection at the base of the bill. They are ex- 
ceedingly strong and active and naturally quite quarrelsome. 
The ganders are vicious fighters, and sometimes hard to 
handle. The geese are good layers, perhaps the best of the 
three breeds named, though there is so much variation in 
families and individuals that probably on the whole one 
breed about equals the other in respect to egg production. 

The Toulouse is lighter in color than the African, has 
a light colored bill, and is stouter and deeper in body and 
coarser and heavier in under lines. Grade Toulouse and 
outcroppings of Toulouse blood in scrub geese of dubious 
ancestry are very common. 

Embden geese are pure white in plumage and have 
pink or flesh colored legs and bills. Unlike white ducks 
and most other white poultry, their plumage is not creamy, 
but is clear, snow white. In size they are somewhat below 
the Toulouse and about on an average with the African, 
though of rather closer build than the latter. They supply 
the white in the pied geese so common in the most • dis- 
reputable puddle squads of the back alleys and of careless 
producers, When dressed at the best age the Emden yields 
the cleanest carcass, as there are no black pin feathers nor 
tattoo marks. Feathers, produced in dressing for market 
are an appreciable item and clear white often sell as high 
as sixty cents per pound wholesale, while colored feathers 
are worth ten to thirty cents less. We always protest 



124 TURKEYS. DUCKS AND GEESE 

against the picking of live geese as a practice permissable 
only in dark ages and among cruel, heedless and thought- 
less people. The breeds run near enough in practical value 
to allow of the selection of whichever best suits the fancy 
of the breeder. 

If an old field is available, and there is considerable 
range, very little in the way of fencing will keep them in. 
If the feed is poor and good grass is in sight they will 
sometimes, with the aid of their wings, scramble over a stone 
wall or low wire fence. Otherwise, a two-foot wire net- 
ting, or at most three-foot, will restrain their wanderings. 
African geese are sometimes fairly good flyers, but we have 
never seen Toulouse or Etnbden geese fly. 

Mating for Breeding. 

According to the individuals, from two to four geese 
should be mated with each gander. While mating sep- 
arate, and where convenient, seclude each mating for a 
week or two just as the breeding season is beginning, 
which time will readily be determined by the cries and ac- 
tions of the birds. After the birds are rightly mated they 
may be allowed to run together for they will not remate 
nor mix. In case of the death or disability of a male go 
through the same process of mating with a fresh male and 
when a mating is satisfactory, continue it as long as the 
geese prove prolific, which will usually be several years. 
Indeed, many breeders consider geese of five years and up 
preferable to younger birds, but we have found so much 
difference in individuals that we counsel a selection made 
from the best producers regardless of age. 

Feeding the Breeding Flocks. 

In order that fertile eggs and strong germs may be 
had, the breeding geese must be properly fed. The natural 
food of the goose is grasses, water plants and roots and 
some of the lower forms of animal life. They are easily 
thrown out of good breeding condition by too heavy feed- 



SUCCESS WITH GEESE 



125 



ing of corn and fattening food, and a large proportion of 
their winter ration should be of vegetables or roots, such 
as cabbage, beets, turnips, etc. They are very fond of 
green corn and if it is not too well matured will eat the 
stock completely up. As the breeding season approaches, 
which in New England is generally in February, the ration 




■f -wf 



lilllil ililti %W< m- : " : ,:J n m0 







w f n 






m :. 




Cross-Bred Geese on a Rhode Island Goose Farm. 

should be gradually increased and an allowance of good 
beef scraps or other meat food will help toward egg pro- 
duction, and in their hatching quality. 

It should not be understood that the breeding stock 
is to be starved through the winter but that they are to 
be kept in good flesh but not fattened. Twice a day is 
often enough to feed at any season. If on' good grass 
range, they will pick up their own living but will lay more 
and better eggs if helped out with some grain and scraps. 
If \,\rded or on insufficient range they should have plentiful 
feeds of green stuff and a grain ration of wheat bran, 
Indian meal and ground beef scrap in the proportions of 
four, three, one, or a dry mash, commercial or home mixed, 






fURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 



may be kept within reach. They will appreciate some form 

gril and oyster shell as much as fowl or ducks. Always 

p a supply of drinking water within reach and even in 

win! that they have as much as they need to drink. 

Feed with some regularity and in the same place and the 

se will always be on hand and vociferously greet the 

They arc naturally tame and readily respond to 

friendly advances. 

Hatching the Goslings. 
Most geese lay two litters in a season and the usual 
number laid totals from twenty-five to forty. It is well 
set. the first eggs under hens and to break up the goose, 
not permitting her to sit until the last litter is laid — if at all. 
Sitting geese are sometimes very ugly and should not be 
disturbed. A blow from the wing of an angry goose or 
gander may be severe enough to break an arm or seriously 
injure a leg, and one who has felt the force of the nasty 
flap they can give is pretty sure to be prudent ever after. 
Hatching geese eggs in incubators has seldom been very 
Miccessful, and hens generally give better results. The 
eggs seem to need more moisture than hen or duck eggs 
when run in incubators, and the goslings don't get out of 
the shell as well as they should. Hens will hatch them 
if they are hatchable. Not more than four or five should 
be put under an ordinary sized hen and no special prepara- 
tion is required. Set -the ben in the same manner as for 
hens' eggs. We have sprinkled eggs liberally with luke- 
warm water the last few days of the incubation, but got 
no better results than when we let the hen do the whole job. 
As ^oon as the goslings are out of the shell, and well 
dried off we take them from the hen and put them in a 
warm place, leaving only one or two with the hen until 
ail are ready to be taken from the nest. The little goslings 
neck and head, and hens have a habit of walking 
on them and often they are killed before leaving the nest. 
Removing them as they hatch and giving the hen a chance 



SUCCESS WITH GEESE 127 

to accustom herself to her new "offspring" saves many 
that otherwise would be lost. 

When the goslings are all hatched and ready to go out 
for their start in the world, confine the hen in a convenient 
coop and let the little fellows run out on the fresh, tender 
grass. The hen may also be on grass, but should not be 
permitted to roam at will, as the goslings are not built for 
road work and need to be nursed along for a time before 
entering Marathon races. 

A " Growing Ration." 

A great many have been raised on little but the grass 
they grazed, but to get a quick, profitable growth they should 
be liberally fed on a growing ration of wheat bran, corn 
meal and scrap, similar to the laying ration before given, 
or on some of the commercial dry feeds. They are wonder- 
ful growers and may be made ready for market by twelve 
or fourteen weeks of good feeding and made to weigh 
from ten to fourteen pounds each. Don't forget that they 
need a plentiful supply of w r ater for drinking and when 
old enough to reach into the vessel give them enough so 
they can run their heads and necks under the surface. Be 
careful that the pail or tub has slats across the top for 
many an awkward gosling has met death by losing bal- 
ance and standing on his head in a water pail. 

Before feathering goslings are easily chilled and during 
cold rains should be looked after. If one is found chilled 
or cast on his back in the mud, put him at once in a very 
warm spot, and keep him there until the chill is past and 
he is steady on his pins. Often they may be brought around 
after becoming stiff and apparently dead. They must have 
shade, good grass, plenty of water and full feeding if they 
are to meet the demand of the producer for profit and of 
the market for high class poultry. 

When properly grown, nothing in the poultry line is 
more toothsome. When grown, as too many are, on wiry 



OCT 15 1909 



128 



TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 



grass and fresh air, one goes a good ways and hurts the 
demand more than ten good ones can help it. 

There is some market for goose eggs for table use. 
Most of these come from the West and South and are used 
more by people of foreign birth than by the natives. At 
Easter time there is a special demand, and many are held 
in cold storage for sale at that time. It will not pay to 
raise or keep geese for the eggs alone, but under some con- 
ditions they may add considerable to the revenue to be de- 
rived from goose culture. 




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